Shloka 18
Śreyas-nirdeśa (Discerning the Superior Good): Nārada–Gālava Saṃvāda
सुप्तं व्याघ्रं महौघो वा मृत्युरादाय गच्छति । धर्माचरण करनेसे इस लोकमें प्रसन्नता प्राप्त होती है और मृत्युके पश्चात् परलोकमें अक्षय सुखकी प्राप्ति होती है। जिसपर मोहका आवेश होता है
suptaṁ vyāghraṁ mahaugho vā mṛtyur ādāya gacchati | sañcinvānakam evainaṁ kāmānām avitṛptakam ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Kung paanong ang dambuhalang baha ng ilog ay tinatangay ang tigre na natutulog sa pampang, gayon din sinasakmal at dinadala ng Kamatayan ang tao. Ang napapailalim sa pagkalito ay nalulubog sa walang humpay na pagod para sa asawa at mga anak, sinusubukang pasayahin sila sa paggawa ng nararapat at di nararapat. Kahit nagkamit na siya ng mga anak at mga alagang hayop, kung ang isip ay nakakapit pa rin at hindi pa rin busog ang pagnanasa, darating ang Kamatayan at kukunin siya—bigla, gaya ng baha na sumasagasa sa di nag-iingat.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma warns that attachment and insatiable desire keep a person busy with worldly obligations and compromises, but Death can arrive at any moment and carry him away. Therefore one should practice dharma and cultivate detachment rather than living in delusion and endless accumulation.
In the Śānti Parva instruction, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira on ethical living: he contrasts the peace gained by dharma with the restless life of one driven by moha, illustrating mortality through the image of a sleeping tiger swept away by a sudden flood.