Shloka 37
स्त्रीपर्व १: धृतराष्ट्रशोकः संजयाश्वासनं च
Strī Parva 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Saṃjaya’s Consolation
मधु य: केवल दृष्टवा प्रपातं नानुपश्यति । स भ्रष्टो मधुलो भेन शोचत्येवं यथा भवान्,“जो केवल ऊँचे स्थानपर लगे हुए मधुको देखकर वहाँसे गिरनेकी सम्भावनाकी ओरसे आँख बंद कर लेता है, वह उस मधुके लालचसे नीचे गिरकर इसी तरह शोक करता है, जैसे आप कर रहे हैं
madhu yaḥ kevalaṃ dṛṣṭvā prapātaṃ nānupaśyati | sa bhraṣṭo madhulobhena śocaty evaṃ yathā bhavān ||
यः केवलं दृष्ट्वा मधु प्रपातभयं नानुपश्यति । स मधुलोभात् स्रंसमानो भ्रष्टः शोचत्येव यथा भवान् ॥
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not be blinded by attractive gain (the 'honey') while ignoring evident risks (the 'fall'). Desire that refuses to foresee consequences leads to ruin and grief; wise judgment requires seeing both benefit and danger.
Vaiśaṃpāyana uses a proverbial metaphor to admonish a grieving listener: just as a man who covets honey on a height and ignores the peril of falling ends in sorrow, so the present grief is portrayed as the outcome of earlier shortsighted attachment or misjudgment.