Shloka 25
प्रजाविसर्ग-तत्त्वनिर्णयः | Cosmogony of Elemental Emergence
Bharadvāja–Bhṛgu Dialogue
मृत्योर्वा मुखमेतद् वै या ग्रामे वसतो रति: । देवानामेष वै गोष्ठो यदरण्यमिति श्रुति:
mṛtyor vā mukham etad vai yā grāme vasato ratiḥ | devānām eṣa vai goṣṭho yad araṇyam iti śrutiḥ ||
பீஷ்மர் கூறினார்—கிராமத்தில் வாழும் ஆசை உண்மையில் மரணத்தின் வாய்போலவே. மேலும், ‘காடு (அரண்யம்)தேவதைகளின் கோஷ்டி—கூடுகை இடம்’ என்று ஸ்ருதி கூறுகிறது.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Attachment to settled, comfort-oriented village life is portrayed as a direct doorway to spiritual decline and mortality, whereas the forest symbolizes austerity, simplicity, and proximity to the divine; the verse urges detachment and a turn toward disciplined living.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he contrasts worldly habitation (the village) with the ascetic ideal (the forest), citing traditional authority (śruti) to elevate forest-dwelling as a sacred sphere associated with the gods.