Shloka 16
Janamejaya’s Appeal for Pacification and Śaunaka’s Counsel on Humility (जनमेजय-शौनक संवादः)
न मे5स्ति विभवो येन नाशयेयं क्षुधां तव । उत्पन्नेन हि जीवामो वयं नित्यं वनौकस:
na me 'sti vibhavo yena nāśayeyam kṣudhāṃ tava | utpannena hi jīvāmo vayaṃ nityaṃ vanaukasaḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「あなたの飢えを取り除くほどの手立てを、私は持たない。私たち森に住む者は、日ごとに自然に生じるものだけで生きる。ゆえに、得られたその時に得られたものによって、絶えず命をつないでいるのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical realism and contentment: one should acknowledge one’s limited means without deceit, and it praises a life of simple subsistence—living on what is naturally obtained—reflecting restraint and non-attachment.
Bhishma, speaking in the Shanti Parva’s instructional setting, responds to someone’s hunger by stating he lacks the resources to relieve it, explaining that forest-dwellers survive on whatever food or support happens to arise, rather than on stored wealth or assured provisions.