Shloka 24
Rāma’s Abhiṣeka Plan, Kaikeyī’s Boon, and the Initiation of the Exile
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account
क्षुद् धर्मसंज्ञां प्रणुदत्यादत्ते धैर्यमेव च । रसानुसारिणी जिद्ठ्ा कर्षत्येव रसान् प्रति,'भूख (बड़े-बड़े लोगोंके) धर्मज्ञानको विलुप्त कर देती है, धैर्य हर लेती है तथा रसका अनुसरण करनेवाली रसना सदा रसीले पदार्थोंकी ओर मनुष्यको खींचती रहती है
kṣud dharmasaṃjñāṃ praṇudaty ādatte dhairyam eva ca | rasānusāriṇī jihvā karṣaty eva rasān prati ||
Vyāsa said: Hunger drives away even the very sense of dharma and steals away steadfastness. And the tongue, ever following after taste, continually drags a person toward pleasurable flavors. In this way, bodily need and craving can eclipse moral discernment and weaken self-control.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Physical hunger and sensory craving can overpower ethical awareness (dharma-saṃjñā) and erode firmness (dhairya). Therefore, moral life requires mastery of appetite and careful management of bodily needs so that discernment is not eclipsed by desire.
Vyāsa delivers a reflective instruction on human vulnerability: when hunger arises, even the wise may lose clarity about dharma, and the tongue’s pursuit of taste pulls one toward indulgence. The verse functions as a moral-psychological observation within the Vana Parva’s broader teachings on restraint and right conduct amid hardship.