Shloka 15
जनकस्य युद्धोपदेशः — Janaka’s Instruction on Steadfast Battle-Conduct
चराणामचरा ह्वान्नमदंष्टा दंष्टिणामपि । आप: पिपासतामन्नमन्नं शूरस्य कातरा:
carāṇām acarā hy annam adaṁṣṭrā daṁṣṭinām api | āpaḥ pipāsatām annam annaṁ śūrasya kātarāḥ ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Sa kaayusan ng daigdig, ang gumagalaw ay nabubuhay sa di gumagalaw; ang walang ngipin ay nagiging pagkain ng may ngipin. Sa nauuhaw, ang tubig mismo ay ‘pagkain’; at sa tunay na matapang, ang duwag ay parang pagkain—nilalamon at napapanaig. Kaya ang lakas, pangangailangan, at takot ang humuhubog sa likás na hirarkiya; dapat makita ng marunong ang padron na ito kapag nagmumuni sa asal at kapangyarihan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a general law of the world: beings sustain themselves by consuming what is weaker or more vulnerable, and even human courage and fear create a hierarchy. Ethically, it urges clear-eyed understanding of power and dependence when judging conduct and governance.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the realities of rule and society. Here he uses vivid natural metaphors—moving vs. unmoving, toothed vs. toothless, thirsty vs. water, brave vs. coward—to illustrate how dominance and need operate in the world.