Shloka 26
प्रजाविसर्ग-तत्त्वनिर्णयः | Cosmogony of Elemental Emergence
Bharadvāja–Bhṛgu Dialogue
ग्राम या नगरमें रहकर जो स्त्री-पुत्र आदिमें आसक्ति बढ़ायी जाती है, यह मृत्युका मुख ही है और जो वनका आश्रय लेता है, यह इन्द्रियरूपी गौओंको बाँधनेके लिये गोशालाके समान है, यह श्रुतिका कथन है ।।
nibandhanī rajjur eṣā yā grāme vasato ratiḥ | chittvaitāṃ sukṛto yānti naināṃ chindanti duṣkṛtaḥ ||
毗湿摩说：“住在村落之人所生之执著——沉溺于妻子、儿女等家业之乐——乃是缚人的绳索。贤善者斩断此绳而得解脱；恶行者不能斩断。故久居世间聚落，只会加固引众生趋向死亡的系缚；而依止林野，依《闻传》（śruti）所说，是制御之处，如牛栏系住诸根之‘牛’。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly attachment formed in settled life functions like a rope that binds the soul. Only those committed to virtue and discipline can ‘cut’ this bond through detachment and self-restraint; those given to wrongdoing remain bound.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira on the dangers of household attachment and the value of restraint (often symbolized by forest-dwelling), framing attachment as a tangible bond that must be severed for spiritual freedom.