Shloka 20
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
आशयन्त्यपि मामन्न॑ पुनर्बहुगुणं बहु । पुनरल्पं पुन:स्तोकं पुनर्नैवोपपद्यते
āśayanty api mām annaṃ punar bahuguṇaṃ bahu | punar alpaṃ punaḥ stokaṃ punar naivopapadyate ||
毗湿摩说：“纵然有人照料我，人们仍一再前来，以多种佳品之食丰厚相馈；然而有时我只得些许——有时仅一小口——有时连这一口也无。由此可知，人生所遇，参差不齐，难以预料。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights the instability of worldly provisions: at times one receives abundance, at times only a little, and at times nothing. The ethical implication is to cultivate endurance, contentment, and detachment rather than entitlement or resentment.
Bhishma, speaking in the Shanti Parva, reflects on his experience of being tended and fed: different people bring him food of varying quantity and quality, and sometimes none arrives. He uses this observation to underscore the unpredictability of material support in life.