Shloka 21
Saṃsāra-Gahana Allegory: The Brāhmaṇa in the Forest and Well (संसारगहन-आख्यान)
कृष्णा: ट्वेताश्व त॑ वृक्ष कुट्टयन्ति च मूषिका:,जिस वृक्षके सहारे वह लटका हुआ है, उसे काले और सफेद चूहे निरन्तर काट रहे हैं। पहले तो उसे वनके दुर्गम प्रदेशके भीतर ही अनेक सर्पोंसे भय है, दूसरा भय सीमापर खड़ी हुई उस भयंकर स्त्रीसे है, तीसरा कुँएके नीचे बैठे हुए नागसे है, चौथा कुँएके मुखबन्धके पास खड़े हुए हाथीसे है और पाँचवाँ भय चूहोंके काट देनेपर उस वृक्षसे गिर जानेका है। इनके सिवा, मधुके लोभसे मधुमक्खियोंकी ओरसे जो उसको महान् भय प्राप्त होनेवाला है, वह छठा भय बताया गया है
kṛṣṇāḥ śvetāś ca mūṣikā vṛkṣaṃ kuṭṭayanti; yasya vṛkṣasya sahāre sa lambate, taṃ te satataṃ chindanti.
Vidura says: Black and white mice keep gnawing at the tree on which the man is hanging. The very support that seems to hold him is being steadily cut away. In this allegory, life is beset by many fears—dangers within the wild forest, the terror at the boundary, the serpent below in the well, the elephant near the mouth of the well, and the final fear of falling when the tree is severed; and beyond these, even the lure of honey brings yet another peril. The ethical thrust is that worldly existence is precarious and time relentlessly consumes one’s supports, so one should awaken to discernment and seek the higher good rather than cling to fleeting pleasures.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses an allegory to show that one’s worldly supports are continually eroded by time (symbolized by black and white mice), while multiple dangers surround embodied life; therefore, one should cultivate discernment and detachment, not be intoxicated by fleeting pleasures (honey), and turn toward the higher, enduring good.
Vidura describes a man hanging from a tree over a well while black and white mice gnaw the tree; around him are various threats (snakes, an elephant, and other terrors), yet he is still drawn by the lure of honey—illustrating how a person in perilous samsaric life remains distracted by sensual enjoyment.