Shloka 19
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
सुमहान्तमपि ग्रासं ग्रसे लब्धं यदृच्छया । शये पुनरभुञ्जानो दिवसानि बहून्यपि
sumahāntam api grāsaṁ grase labdhaṁ yadṛcchayā | śaye punar abhuñjāno divasāni bahūny api ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “Kung sa pagkakataon ay makakuha ako ng napakalaking bahagi ng pagkain, kinakain ko iyon. Kung isang subo lamang ang matanggap ko, nasisiyahan na ako roon. At kung wala akong matanggap, hihiga lamang ako—kahit maraming araw—nang hindi kumakain.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
To practice santoṣa (contentment) and non-attachment: accept food (and, by extension, life’s gains) as it comes by chance—without greed in abundance and without agitation in scarcity—maintaining inner steadiness and self-control.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and right conduct. Here he describes his own disciplined attitude toward sustenance: he eats when food is obtained, is satisfied with little, and remains untroubled even when fasting for many days.