Shloka 20
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
आशयन्त्यपि मामन्न॑ पुनर्बहुगुणं बहु । पुनरल्पं पुन:स्तोकं पुनर्नैवोपपद्यते
āśayanty api mām annaṃ punar bahuguṇaṃ bahu | punar alpaṃ punaḥ stokaṃ punar naivopapadyate ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “Kahit inaalagaan ako, may mga taong dumarating nang paulit-ulit at pinapakain ako ng saganang pagkain na hitik sa iba’t ibang kabutihan. Ngunit sa ibang panahon, kaunti lamang ang natatanggap ko—kung minsan ay isang munting subo—at kung minsan ay ni iyon ay wala. Ganyan ang dumarating sa tao sa buhay: hindi pantay at hindi tiyak.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights the instability of worldly provisions: at times one receives abundance, at times only a little, and at times nothing. The ethical implication is to cultivate endurance, contentment, and detachment rather than entitlement or resentment.
Bhishma, speaking in the Shanti Parva, reflects on his experience of being tended and fed: different people bring him food of varying quantity and quality, and sometimes none arrives. He uses this observation to underscore the unpredictability of material support in life.