Shloka 22
Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)
पीडितस्य किमद्वारमुत्पथो विधृतस्य च । अद्वारत: प्रद्रवति यदा भवति पीडित:
pīḍitasya kim advāram utpatho vidhṛtasya ca | advārataḥ pradravati yadā bhavati pīḍitaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“对被灾厄压垮的人而言，哪里还会有‘无出口之处’？对被囚禁的人而言，哪条路才算真正‘禁路’？当人被逼到绝境，纵使那里根本不是门，他也会从那里逃走。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
In extreme distress, people prioritize survival and will find or create an exit even where none seems to exist; likewise, one under restraint may take unconventional routes. The verse highlights how calamity compresses choices and pushes humans toward desperate, improvised action.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on statecraft and dharma. Here he offers a pragmatic observation about behavior under danger: when afflicted, a person escapes by any means, even through ‘doorless’ places or ‘improper’ paths.