Shloka 16
भृगु–भरद्वाजसंवादः: वर्णभेदस्य कर्माधारितव्याख्या
Bhrigu–Bharadvaja Dialogue: A Karma-Based Account of Varṇa
अधिष्ठाय च गां लोके भुञ्जते वाहयन्ति च । उपायैर्बहुभिश्वैव वश्यानात्मनि कुर्वते,“हाथवाले मनुष्य बैलोंसे जुती हुई गाड़ीपर चढ़कर उन्हें हाँकते हैं और जगत्में उनका यथेष्ट उपभोग करते हैं तथा हाथसे ही अनेक प्रकारके उपाय करके लोगोंको अपने वशमें कर लेते हैं
adhiṣṭhāya ca gāṁ loke bhuñjate vāhayanti ca | upāyair bahubhiś caiva vaśyān ātmani kurvate ||
ในโลกนี้ มนุษย์ผู้มีมือย่อมขึ้นรถที่เทียมโค ขับไล่ให้เดิน และใช้ประโยชน์ตามใจปรารถนา ด้วยมือนั่นเอง อาศัยอุบายหลากหลาย เขายังทำให้ผู้อื่นตกอยู่ใต้อำนาจของตนได้
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a practical metaphor: just as a person with hands can mount a bullock-cart, drive the oxen, and use them for one’s purposes, so too human agency—through deliberate means (upāya)—can bring situations and even other people under one’s influence. Ethically, it points to the potency of skillful action and strategy, implying responsibility in how such power is exercised.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he illustrates a point about worldly capability and governance through an everyday image of driving oxen yoked to a cart, emphasizing how people employ various methods to secure control and accomplish aims.