Shloka 45
Śrī–Indra–Bali Saṃvāda: The Departure and Fourfold Placement of Lakṣmī
एवमर्थरनर्थश्व दु:खिता: सर्वजन्तव: । आगमैरपकृष्यन्ते हस्तिपैहस्तिनो यथा
evam artha-anarthau ca duḥkhitāḥ sarva-jantavaḥ | āgamair apakṛṣyante hastipair hastino yathā ||
एवमर्थानर्थाभ्यां दुःखिताḥ सर्वजन्तवः। आगमैरेवापकृष्यन्ते पन्थानं प्रति यथा हस्तिनो हस्तिपैः अङ्कुशेन नियन्त्रिताः॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Beings are tossed between gain and loss and therefore suffer; reliable scriptural guidance (āgama) functions as a corrective force that restrains and redirects them toward dharma, like a mahout controlling an elephant.
Bhīṣma continues his instruction in the Śānti Parva, using a vivid simile: as elephants are kept in check by elephant-drivers, so people—disturbed by worldly outcomes—are brought back to the right course by authoritative teachings.