Mahabharata 3.201.4736 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 4736
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
विश्रमेद् यत्र वै श्रान्त: पुरुषो5ध्वनि कर्शित: । उसके मार्ममें जलरहित शून्य आकाशमात्र है। वह देखनेमें बड़ा भयानक और दुर्गम है। वहाँ न तो वृक्षोंकी छाया है
viśramed yatra vai śrāntaḥ puruṣo 'dhvani karśitaḥ |
Sabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Yaon ang pook na kung saan ang isang tao, lupaypay at pinahirapan ng mahabang paglalakbay, ay nanaising magpahinga. Ngunit sa loob nito’y walang tubig—pawang hungkag na lawak na tila langit. Nakakatakot itong pagmasdan at mahirap tawirin: walang lilim ng punò, walang tubig, at ni isang lugar man na mapaghihintuan ng nilalang na pagod sa daan kahit sandali.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the ethical and psychological reality of travel and exile: hardship strips away comforts, testing endurance and resolve. It highlights how the wilderness can become a moral proving-ground where perseverance and restraint are required when even basic refuge—shade, water, rest—is absent.
Vaiśampāyana describes a frightening, difficult stretch of terrain encountered in the forest context: a barren expanse lacking water and shelter, where a weary traveller finds no place to rest. The description intensifies the sense of danger and deprivation characteristic of the Vana Parva’s wilderness episodes.
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