मधु वै माध्विको लब्ध्वा प्रपातं नावबुध्यते ॥
आरुह्य तं मज्जति वा पतनं वाधिगच्छति ॥
सो ऽयं मत्तो ऽक्षदेवेन मधुवन् न परीक्षते ॥
प्रपातं बुध्यते नैव वैरं कृत्वा महारथैः ॥
madhu vai mādhviko labdhvā prapātaṃ nāvabudhyate ||
āruhya taṃ majjati vā patanaṃ vādhigacchati ||
so 'yaṃ matto 'kṣadevena madhuvan na parīkṣate ||
prapātaṃ budhyate naiva vairaṃ kṛtvā mahārathaiḥ ||
"The honey-gatherer, having obtained honey, does not notice the precipice; climbing up after it, he drowns or falls. So too this man, intoxicated by the game of dice, discerns nothing, just as the honey-gatherer discerns nothing for the honey; he does not notice the precipice at all, having made enmity with the great charioteers."
d00beae14510 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:03:36 PM UTC
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The parable of the honey-gatherer is exact: sweetness veils the abyss toward which the seeker reaches. Telling is that passion blinds precisely at the moment of enjoyment: the one enraptured does not see the edge on which he stands. The verse teaches that craving strips away caution — one drunk on desire does not notice the precipice underfoot. And Duryodhana, "having made enmity with the great charioteers," reaches for the ruinous honey of victory without seeing that he hangs over the abyss of war. Thus does evil intoxicate its own: it offers sweetness to conceal what is deadly. Wisdom lies in remembering the precipice even amid sweetness; one drunk on gain is already falling — he simply does not know it yet.