Shloka 29
Vipula’s Yogic Protection of the Guru’s Household (विपुलस्य योगरक्षा / Vipulasya Yogarakṣā)
अन्तक: पवनो मृत्यु: पातालं वडवामुखम् | क्षुरधारा विषं सर्पों वल्विरित्येकतः स्त्रिय:
antakaḥ pavano mṛtyuḥ pātālaṃ vaḍavāmukham | kṣuradhārā viṣaṃ sarpo valvir ity ekataḥ striyaḥ ||
Бхишма сказал: «Антака (Яма), ветер, смерть, Патала, подводный огонь с ликом кобылицы (Вадавамукха), острие бритвы, яд, змея и пылающий огонь — всё это собрано на одной стороне как причины гибели; а на другой стороне стоят одни лишь женщины, равные им».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses deliberate exaggeration to warn that uncontrolled attraction and careless conduct can be as ruinous as the most lethal forces; it presses the ethical lesson of vigilance, restraint, and discernment in relationships.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma is delivering moral counsel; here he lists archetypal agents of destruction and then compares them to the danger he associates with women, as part of a broader admonitory discourse on conduct and self-mastery.