Shloka 16
Saṃsāra-Gahana Allegory: The Brāhmaṇa in the Forest and Well (संसारगहन-आख्यान)
तस्य चापि प्रशाखासु वृक्षशाखावलम्बिन: । नानारूपा मधुकरा घोररूपा भयावहा:
tasya cāpi praśākhāsu vṛkṣaśākhāvalambinaḥ | nānārūpā madhukarā ghorarūpā bhayāvahāḥ ||
तस्य चापि प्रशाखासु वृक्षशाखावलम्बिनः। नानारूपा मधुकरा घोररूपा भयावहाः॥
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura continues an ethical allegory: when one is caught in the ‘tree’ of worldly entanglement, additional dangers accumulate around it. The frightening ‘bees’ symbolize the many anxieties, threats, and painful consequences that cling to a life driven by error and attachment, intensifying fear and suffering.
Vidura is speaking and describing an image: on the subsidiary branches of a tree, bees of many kinds hang and swarm, appearing dreadful and fear-inducing. The verse functions as part of a larger figurative description meant to warn about perilous conditions surrounding a misguided course of life.