Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 36
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
तदिदमनुनिशम्य विप्रपात॑ पृथगभिपतन्नमिहाबुरधर्मनुष्यै: । अनवसितमनन्तदोषपारं नृषु विहरामि विनीतदोषतृष्ण:
tad idam anu-niśamya vipra-pātaṃ pṛthag abhipatan namihābur adharma-manuṣyaiḥ | anavasitam ananta-doṣa-pāraṃ nṛṣu viharāmi vinīta-doṣa-tṛṣṇaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“听闻这种‘如蟒’的生活方式，愚人——其对法（dharma）的理解已然乖曲——便惊惧战栗，仿佛从山巅坠落。然而他们的判断是错的。我认为此‘阿阇伽罗行’（ājagara-vṛtti）能摧破无明，且离一切过失——过失无从立足，亦无所谓尽头与彼岸。故而，我既已调伏吹毛求疵之心与贪爱之渴，便在人群中行住往来。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma defends ajagara-vṛtti—living without anxious striving and without grasping—as a legitimate dharmic discipline. He teaches that what the ignorant fear as ‘dangerous’ is actually a means to destroy ignorance, provided one abandons craving (tṛṣṇā) and the habit of seeing faults (doṣa) everywhere.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation-oriented conduct, Bhishma explains that many people misunderstand the ‘python-like’ ascetic stance and condemn it. He rejects their judgment and states his own commitment: moving among people while restraining desire and moral blemishes, he upholds this practice as blameless and spiritually clarifying.