Shloka 24
क्व च युद्ध विमर्दो वा मन्त्रे सुव्याहृतानि च । क्व च भीष्मो गतवया मन्दात्मा कालचोदित:,“कहाँ युद्ध, मारकाट और गुप्त मन्त्रणामें अच्छी बातें बतानेका कार्य और कहाँ कालप्रेरित मन्दबुद्धि भीष्म, जिनकी आयु समाप्त हो चुकी है
kva ca yuddha-vimardo vā mantre suvyāhṛtāni ca | kva ca bhīṣmo gatavayā mandātmā kāla-coditaḥ ||
ক’ত যুদ্ধৰ মর্দনময় সংঘর্ষ, আৰু ক’ত গোপন মন্ত্রণাত সুসঙ্গত বাক্য কোৱাৰ কৰ্তব্য? আৰু ক’ত মই—আয়ু শেষ হোৱা, মন্দ-সংকল্প ভীষ্ম—কালৰ প্ৰেৰণাে চালিত।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights the mismatch between the ideal demands of war and wise counsel—clarity, strength, and timely speech—and his own condition as an aged man compelled by Kāla. The verse underscores humility and the ethical awareness that even great elders can be constrained by circumstance and time.
In the tense lead-up to the Kurukṣetra war (Udyoga Parva), Bhīṣma speaks reflectively, contrasting the fierce arena of battle and the need for sound strategic counsel with his own aged, time-driven state, implying reluctance and a sense of tragic compulsion.