Shloka 183
Saṃsāra-Gahana Allegory: The Brāhmaṇa in the Forest and Well (संसारगहन-आख्यान)
आलम्बमान: स पुमान् धारां पिबति सर्वदा । उस समय उस मधुकी अनेक धाराएँ वहाँ झर रही थीं और वह लटका हुआ पुरुष निरन्तर उस मधुधाराको पी रहा था
ālambamānaḥ sa pumān dhārāṃ pibati sarvadā |
Vidura said: Hanging on, that man continually drinks the stream. In the allegorical setting, he remains suspended in peril yet stays absorbed in tasting the sweet flow, illustrating how a person, even amid insecurity and impending danger, can become addicted to fleeting pleasures and forget the larger demands of prudence and dharma.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when life is precarious, a person may cling to momentary sweetness and ignore looming danger; the verse warns against attachment to transient pleasures and urges steadiness, discernment, and self-restraint in line with dharma.
Vidura describes an allegorical scene: a man hangs suspended and keeps drinking a flowing stream (understood in context as a honey-like flow). The image highlights how fascination with pleasure can persist even in a situation of clear risk.