Shloka 15
जनकस्य युद्धोपदेशः — Janaka’s Instruction on Steadfast Battle-Conduct
चराणामचरा ह्वान्नमदंष्टा दंष्टिणामपि । आप: पिपासतामन्नमन्नं शूरस्य कातरा:
carāṇām acarā hy annam adaṁṣṭrā daṁṣṭinām api | āpaḥ pipāsatām annam annaṁ śūrasya kātarāḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「世の秩序において、動くものは動かぬものを糧として生きる。歯なきものは歯あるものの餌となる。渇く者にとって水そのものが『食』であり、真に勇なる者にとっては臆病者が食のごとし—呑み込み、屈せしめられる者である。かくして力、必要、そして恐れが自然の階を形づくる。賢者は行いと権勢を省みるとき、この型を見抜かねばならぬ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a general law of the world: beings sustain themselves by consuming what is weaker or more vulnerable, and even human courage and fear create a hierarchy. Ethically, it urges clear-eyed understanding of power and dependence when judging conduct and governance.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the realities of rule and society. Here he uses vivid natural metaphors—moving vs. unmoving, toothed vs. toothless, thirsty vs. water, brave vs. coward—to illustrate how dominance and need operate in the world.