Shloka 20
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
आशयन्त्यपि मामन्न॑ पुनर्बहुगुणं बहु । पुनरल्पं पुन:स्तोकं पुनर्नैवोपपद्यते,'फिर कितने ही लोग आकर मुझे अनेक गुणोंसे सम्पन्न बहुत-सा अन्न खिला देते हैं। पुनः कभी बहुत थोड़ा, कभी थोड़े-से भी थोड़ा भोजन मिलता है और कभी वह भी नहीं मिलता
āśayanty api mām annaṃ punar bahuguṇaṃ bahu | punar alpaṃ punaḥ stokaṃ punar naivopapadyate ||
आशयन्त्यपि मामन्नं पुनर्बहुगुणं बहु । पुनरल्पं पुनः स्तोकं पुनर्नैवोपपद्यते ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights the instability of worldly provisions: at times one receives abundance, at times only a little, and at times nothing. The ethical implication is to cultivate endurance, contentment, and detachment rather than entitlement or resentment.
Bhishma, speaking in the Shanti Parva, reflects on his experience of being tended and fed: different people bring him food of varying quantity and quality, and sometimes none arrives. He uses this observation to underscore the unpredictability of material support in life.