Shloka 36
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
तदिदमनुनिशम्य विप्रपात॑ पृथगभिपतन्नमिहाबुरधर्मनुष्यै: । अनवसितमनन्तदोषपारं नृषु विहरामि विनीतदोषतृष्ण:
tad idam anu-niśamya vipra-pātaṃ pṛthag abhipatan namihābur adharma-manuṣyaiḥ | anavasitam ananta-doṣa-pāraṃ nṛṣu viharāmi vinīta-doṣa-tṛṣṇaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Kapag narinig ng mga hangal—na baluktot ang pagkaunawa sa dharma—ang ganitong pamumuhay na ‘tulad ng sawa,’ nanginginig sila na para bang nahulog mula sa tuktok ng bundok. Ngunit mali ang kanilang hatol. Itinuturing ko ang ājagara-vṛtti na tagapagwasak ng kamangmangan at walang bahid ng anumang kapintasan—na wari’y walang wakas at walang pampang ng mga pagkukulang. Kaya, matapos supilin ang ugaling manisi at ang pagnanasa, ako’y lumalakad sa gitna ng mga tao.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma defends ajagara-vṛtti—living without anxious striving and without grasping—as a legitimate dharmic discipline. He teaches that what the ignorant fear as ‘dangerous’ is actually a means to destroy ignorance, provided one abandons craving (tṛṣṇā) and the habit of seeing faults (doṣa) everywhere.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation-oriented conduct, Bhishma explains that many people misunderstand the ‘python-like’ ascetic stance and condemn it. He rejects their judgment and states his own commitment: moving among people while restraining desire and moral blemishes, he upholds this practice as blameless and spiritually clarifying.