Shloka 15
Adhyāya 214: Tapas Redefined—Perpetual Discipline, Hospitality, and the Ethics of Eating (तपः-निरूपणम्, विघसाशी-अतिथिप्रिय-धर्मः)
कुणपामे ध्यसंयुक्तं यद्वदच्छिद्रबन्धनम् । तद्वद् देहगतं विद्यादात्मानं देहबन्धनम्
kuṇapāmeḍhyasaṃyuktaṃ yadvad acchidra-bandhanam | tadvad deha-gataṃ vidyād ātmānaṃ deha-bandhanam ||
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അശുചിയായ ഈ ദേഹം, ശവംപോലെ, അച്ഛിന്നബന്ധങ്ങളാൽ ദൃഢമായി കെട്ടിപ്പിണഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ, ദേഹത്തിനുള്ളിൽ വസിക്കുന്ന ആത്മാവും അജ്ഞാനത്താൽ ദേഹബന്ധനത്തിൽ കഠിനമായി ബന്ധിതനാണെന്ന് അറിയണം।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches disidentification from the body: the body is impure and perishable, while the Self is distinct; yet due to ignorance the Self appears tightly bound by embodiment. Recognizing this bondage is a step toward detachment and liberation.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom. Here he uses a stark metaphor of the body as a tightly bound, impure mass to explain how the indwelling Self becomes constrained by bodily identification.