Shloka 13
Śvetadvīpa-varṇana and Śāstra-pravartana (Śānti Parva 322)
सम्मानश्चावमानश्ष लाभालाभौ क्षयोदयौ । प्रवृत्ता विनिवर्तन्ते विधानान्ते पदे पदे
bhīṣma uvāca | sammānaś cāvamānaś ca lābhālābhau kṣayodayau | pravṛttā vinivartante vidhānānte pade pade ||
قال بهيشما: الشرفُ والمهانة، والربحُ والخسارة، والانحطاطُ والارتقاء—كلُّ ذلك ينهض عند كلِّ خطوة وفقَ النظام المقدَّر الذي صاغته أفعالُ المرء في الحيوات السابقة. فإذا ذاق الإنسانُ ثمرَ ما قُدِّر له من الجزاء خمدت تلك الأحوالُ وعادت إلى السكون. لذلك لا ينبغي أن يضطرب لها، بل يثبت على الدارما.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly opposites—honor/dishonor, gain/loss, rise/decline—are transient and unfold according to the ordained course shaped by past actions. Since they end after their destined fruition, one should cultivate steadiness and not let them disturb one’s commitment to dharma.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous living after the war. Here he emphasizes a practical ethical stance: do not be elated by success or crushed by setbacks, because such conditions repeatedly arise and pass away as part of the karmic order.