Shloka 38
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
अन्योन्यभक्षणं दृष्टवा भूतानामपि चाशुभम् | बाल्ये मोहं च विज्ञाय क्षयं देहस्य चाशुभम्
anyonya-bhakṣaṇaṁ dṛṣṭvā bhūtānām api cāśubham | bālye mohaṁ ca vijñāya kṣayaṁ dehasya cāśubham ||
毗湿摩说道：“见诸有情乃至彼此吞噬，行此不祥之事，当思其何等惨痛。亦当知：童年之时，心为迷妄所覆；及至老年，身遭不祥的衰败与毁灭。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights the inherent suffering and moral ugliness of samsaric life: beings harm and consume one another; the mind is deluded in youth; and the body inevitably decays in old age. The point is to cultivate clear discernment (viveka) and dispassion toward transient pleasures, turning the intellect toward liberation.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and the path beyond sorrow. Here he uses stark observations about nature and human life—predation, childhood delusion, and bodily decline—to press the listener toward sober reflection and renunciatory wisdom.