Shloka 14
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
यद्धि भूतं भविष्यं च सर्व तन्न भविष्यति । एवं विदिततवेद्यस्त्वमधर्मे भ्य: प्रमोक्ष्यसे
yaddhi bhūtaṁ bhaviṣyaṁ ca sarvaṁ tanna bhaviṣyati | evaṁ viditatavedyastvam adharmebhyaḥ pramokṣyase ||
إن ما يُتوهَّم أنه جملةُ الماضي والمستقبل—لا شيء منه يصير حقيقةً باقية. فإذا أدركتَ على وجه الصواب المبدأَ الذي ينبغي إدراكه على هذا النحو، تحرّرتَ من جميع صور الأدهرما.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma points to the unreliability and non-abiding nature of what the mind constructs as ‘past’ and ‘future’. By discerning the truly knowable principle (tattva) beyond such temporal projections, one loosens attachment, confusion, and fear—thereby becoming free from the impulses and errors that generate adharma.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and inner discipline after the war. Here he frames ethical purification as rooted in right knowledge: understanding the nature of time-bound phenomena leads to release from unrighteous conduct and its consequences.