Shloka 29
Vipula’s Yogic Protection of the Guru’s Household (विपुलस्य योगरक्षा / Vipulasya Yogarakṣā)
अन्तक: पवनो मृत्यु: पातालं वडवामुखम् | क्षुरधारा विषं सर्पों वल्विरित्येकतः स्त्रिय:
antakaḥ pavano mṛtyuḥ pātālaṃ vaḍavāmukham | kṣuradhārā viṣaṃ sarpo valvir ity ekataḥ striyaḥ ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Antaka (Diêm vương), gió, tử vong, cõi Pātāla, ngọn lửa Vadavāmukha dưới biển, lưỡi dao sắc, chất độc, rắn, và lửa cháy—tất cả những nguyên nhân hủy diệt ấy đứng về một phía; còn về phía kia, chỉ riêng phụ nữ cũng được ví là ngang bằng với chúng.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses deliberate exaggeration to warn that uncontrolled attraction and careless conduct can be as ruinous as the most lethal forces; it presses the ethical lesson of vigilance, restraint, and discernment in relationships.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma is delivering moral counsel; here he lists archetypal agents of destruction and then compares them to the danger he associates with women, as part of a broader admonitory discourse on conduct and self-mastery.