Shloka 191
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
यथा शाून््ये पुरागारे भिक्षुरेकां निशां वसेत् । तथाहं त्वच्छरीरे5स्मिन्निमां वत्स्यामि शर्वरीम्
yathā śūnye purāgāre bhikṣur ekāṃ niśāṃ vaset | tathāhaṃ tvaccharīre 'smin nimāṃ vatsyāmi śarvarīm ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Seperti seorang pengemis suci (bhikṣu) bermalam satu malam di sebuah rumah terbiar di dalam kota, demikian juga aku akan melalui malam ini di dalam tubuhmu—hanya sebagai tumpangan sementara.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a renunciant’s brief stay in an empty house as a metaphor for non-attachment: one should regard embodied existence and worldly residence as temporary, without possessiveness, emphasizing detachment and ethical restraint.
Bhīṣma speaks in the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, employing a vivid simile to describe a short, non-possessive ‘staying’—framing the body as a transient lodging rather than a permanent self.