Shloka 37
Bhīmasena’s Discourse on Kāla, Resolve, and the Feasibility of Ajñātavāsa (भीमसेनस्य कालोपदेशः)
मृगाणामुपयोगश्व वीरुदौषधिसंक्षय: । बिभर्षि च बहून् विप्रान् वेदवेदाड्गपारगान्,'यहाँके हिंसक पशुओंके उपयोग--मारनेका काम हो चुका है तथा तुम बहुत-से वेद- वेदांगोंके पारगामी विद्वान् ब्राह्गोंका भरण-पोषण करते हो (और हवन करते हो), इसलिये यहाँ लता-गुल्म और ओषधियोंका क्षय हो गया है”
mṛgāṇām upayogaś ca vīrud-auṣadhi-saṃkṣayaḥ | bibharṣi ca bahūn viprān veda-vedāṅga-pāragān ||
Vyāsa said: “Because the use of wild animals here has been exhausted (they have been hunted and employed for needs), and because you maintain many learned Brahmins who have mastered the Vedas and the Vedāṅgas (and perform sacrificial rites), the creepers, shrubs, and medicinal plants in this region have been depleted.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links religious and social duties—supporting learned Brahmins and sustaining ritual life—with their material costs, warning that even dharmic activities can strain local resources; ethical action requires awareness of ecological limits and proportionality.
Vyāsa addresses the person being spoken to (contextually a patron/householder or ruler), observing that hunting has reduced game and that the upkeep of many Vedic scholars and sacrificial activity has led to the depletion of local vegetation and medicinal herbs.