Shloka 18
Śreyas-nirdeśa (Discerning the Superior Good): Nārada–Gālava Saṃvāda
सुप्तं व्याघ्रं महौघो वा मृत्युरादाय गच्छति । धर्माचरण करनेसे इस लोकमें प्रसन्नता प्राप्त होती है और मृत्युके पश्चात् परलोकमें अक्षय सुखकी प्राप्ति होती है। जिसपर मोहका आवेश होता है
suptaṁ vyāghraṁ mahaugho vā mṛtyur ādāya gacchati | sañcinvānakam evainaṁ kāmānām avitṛptakam ||
毗湿摩说道：“正如大河洪流会卷走岸边酣睡的猛虎，死亡也会攫住并带走一个人。被迷妄压倒者，终日为妻子与儿女陷于无尽劳作，为求取他们的满足，连应做与不应做之事都去做。纵然已得子嗣与牲畜，若其心仍执著其上、欲望仍不知足，死亡便会骤然而至，将他带走——如洪水扫去毫无防备之人。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma warns that attachment and insatiable desire keep a person busy with worldly obligations and compromises, but Death can arrive at any moment and carry him away. Therefore one should practice dharma and cultivate detachment rather than living in delusion and endless accumulation.
In the Śānti Parva instruction, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira on ethical living: he contrasts the peace gained by dharma with the restless life of one driven by moha, illustrating mortality through the image of a sleeping tiger swept away by a sudden flood.