Shloka 29
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
बहुविधमनुदृश्य चार्थहेतो: कृपणमिहार्यमनार्यमा श्रयन्तम् । उपशमरुचिरात्मवान् प्रशान्तो व्रतमिदमाजगरं शुचिश्चरामि
bahuvidham anudṛśya cārtha-hetoḥ kṛpaṇam ihāryam anāryam āśrayantam | upaśama-rucir ātmavān praśānto vratam idam ājagaraṁ śuciś carāmi ||
毗湿摩说道：“我一再以种种方式观察到：即便是高贵之人，为了财物，也会以可怜的姿态投靠卑劣之辈。见此情状，我的心趣转向寂静。于是，我回归自身真实本性，彻底安宁，以清净之心修持‘蟒蛇之誓’（ājagara-vrata）——如蟒般不躁求、不忧迫而住。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Greed for wealth can drive even the ‘noble’ into humiliating dependence on the ignoble; seeing this, one should cultivate upaśama (inner quiet) and contentment, practicing disciplined non-striving (ājagara-vrata) rather than compromising dignity and dharma for gain.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction in Śānti Parva, he reflects on social and moral decline—how people abase themselves for money—and declares his turn toward serenity and the practice of the ājagara-vrata, a model of austere contentment and freedom from anxious pursuit.