Shloka 10
Adhyāya 179 — Bharadvāja’s Reductionist Inquiry into Jīva and Pañcabhūta Dissolution
गृहारम्भो हि दुःखाय न सुखाय कदाचन । सर्प: परकृतं वेश्म प्रविश्य सुखमेधते
gṛhārambho hi duḥkhāya na sukhāya kadācana | sarpaḥ parakṛtaṃ veśma praviśya sukham edhate ||
ビーシュマは言った。「家を起こし、家計を支える営みは、まことに苦の因であって、決して久遠の楽の因ではない。蛇を見よ。他者の作った住み処（穴）に入り、安らかに暮らす。」この譬えにより、ビーシュマは執着なき心と獲得・所有の重荷からの自由を讃え、蛇を“師”として示すのである。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that attachment to building and owning a home brings ongoing trouble and anxiety, whereas freedom from possessiveness—living lightly without ‘mine-ness’—supports peace. The snake exemplifies using what is available without the burden of acquisition.
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he uses a brief analogy: a snake comfortably occupies a dwelling made by others. The point is to counsel a life of minimal entanglement and to discourage obsession with house-building and property.