Shloka 36
Bhīṣma’s Yogic Departure, Royal Cremation, and Gaṅgā’s Lament (भीष्मस्य योगयुक्त्या देहत्यागः, पितृमेधः, गङ्गाविलापः)
वयं त्विहाल्पमतय: परतन्त्रा: सुविक्लवा: । ज्ञानपूर्व प्रपन्ना: स्मो मृत्यो: पन्थानमव्ययम्,हम इस जगतमें मन्दबुद्धि, परतन्त्र और व्याकुलचित्त मनुष्य हैं। हमने जान-बूझकर मृत्युके अटल मार्गपर पैर रखा है
vayaṁ tvihālpamatayaḥ paratantrāḥ suviklavāḥ | jñānapūrvaṁ prapannāḥ smo mṛtyoḥ panthānam avyayam ||
Bhishma sprach: „Hier sind wir Menschen von geringem Urteilsvermögen — abhängig von Kräften jenseits unserer Kontrolle und im Geist erschüttert. Und doch haben wir uns wissentlich dem unfehlbaren, unumkehrbaren Pfad ausgeliefert, der zum Tod führt.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights sober self-knowledge: humans, limited in understanding and often driven by dependence and agitation, still make choices that bind them to inevitable consequences—here symbolized by the irreversible path to death. Ethically, it urges humility, vigilance in decision-making, and a clearer pursuit of dharma before one is carried along by habit, fear, or external pressures.
Bhishma, speaking in the Anushasana Parva’s instruction-setting, reflects on the human condition. He characterizes people (including himself) as weak and dependent, yet acknowledges deliberate participation in a course that ends in death—an introspective admission that frames his moral counsel with realism about life’s fragility and the weight of conscious action.