Shloka 36
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
तदिदमनुनिशम्य विप्रपात॑ पृथगभिपतन्नमिहाबुरधर्मनुष्यै: । अनवसितमनन्तदोषपारं नृषु विहरामि विनीतदोषतृष्ण:
tad idam anu-niśamya vipra-pātaṃ pṛthag abhipatan namihābur adharma-manuṣyaiḥ | anavasitam ananta-doṣa-pāraṃ nṛṣu viharāmi vinīta-doṣa-tṛṣṇaḥ ||
भीष्म म्हणाले—या आजगर-वृत्तीचे वर्णन ऐकून धर्मबुद्धी बिघडलेल्या मूर्ख लोकांना ते जणू पर्वतशिखरावरून पडण्याइतके भयंकर वाटते; पण त्यांचा निर्णय चुकलेला आहे. मला ही आजगर-वृत्ती अज्ञानाचा नाश करणारी आणि सर्व दोषांपासून मुक्त वाटते. म्हणून दोषदृष्टी व तृष्णा आवरून मी मनुष्यांमध्ये विचरतो.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma defends ajagara-vṛtti—living without anxious striving and without grasping—as a legitimate dharmic discipline. He teaches that what the ignorant fear as ‘dangerous’ is actually a means to destroy ignorance, provided one abandons craving (tṛṣṇā) and the habit of seeing faults (doṣa) everywhere.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation-oriented conduct, Bhishma explains that many people misunderstand the ‘python-like’ ascetic stance and condemn it. He rejects their judgment and states his own commitment: moving among people while restraining desire and moral blemishes, he upholds this practice as blameless and spiritually clarifying.