Mahabharata — Stree Parva, Shloka 37
स्त्रीपर्व १: धृतराष्ट्रशोकः संजयाश्वासनं च
Strī Parva 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Saṃjaya’s Consolation
मधु य: केवल दृष्टवा प्रपातं नानुपश्यति । स भ्रष्टो मधुलो भेन शोचत्येवं यथा भवान्
madhu yaḥ kevalaṃ dṛṣṭvā prapātaṃ nānupaśyati | sa bhraṣṭo madhulobhena śocaty evaṃ yathā bhavān ||
高き所の蜜ばかりを見て、落下の危うさを顧みようとしない者は――その蜜への貪りに駆られて足を滑らせて墜ち、そして今の汝と同じように嘆き悲しむのである。
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not be blinded by attractive gain (the 'honey') while ignoring evident risks (the 'fall'). Desire that refuses to foresee consequences leads to ruin and grief; wise judgment requires seeing both benefit and danger.
Vaiśaṃpāyana uses a proverbial metaphor to admonish a grieving listener: just as a man who covets honey on a height and ignores the peril of falling ends in sorrow, so the present grief is portrayed as the outcome of earlier shortsighted attachment or misjudgment.
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