Shloka 14
Haṃsa–Sādhya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dama, Kṣamā and the Discipline of Speech
आहारसंचयाश्षैव तथा कीटपिपीलिका: । असक्ता: सुखिनो लोके सक्ताश्चैव विनाशिन:
āhārasañcayāś caiva tathā kīṭapipīlikāḥ | asaktāḥ sukhino loke saktāś caiva vināśinaḥ ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Como vermes e formigas que vivem a ajuntar alimento, os que se apegam aos objetos dos sentidos perecem pelo próprio apego. Mas os desapegados andam pelo mundo em paz e sem medo; só eles são verdadeiramente felizes aqui. Para os apegados, o fim é a destruição.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Happiness and fearlessness arise from asakti (non-attachment). Clinging to sense-objects and compulsive accumulation (symbolized by worms and ants hoarding food) leads to vināśa—ruin or spiritual downfall—because attachment binds the mind and makes one vulnerable to loss, fear, and endless craving.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma is teaching Yudhiṣṭhira about dharma and the path to inner peace after the war. Here he uses a vivid natural metaphor—worms and ants hoarding—to warn against worldly attachment and to praise the liberated, unattached person who moves through the world without fear.