Shloka 19
Ānṛśaṃsya–Bhakti: Śukaḥ Śakreṇa Parīkṣitaḥ
Compassion and Devotion—The Parrot Tested by Indra
गतायुषमसामर्थ्य क्षीणसारं हतश्रियम् | विमृश्य प्रज्ञया धीर जहीम॑ स्थविरं द्रुमम्
gatāyuṣam asāmarthyaṁ kṣīṇasāraṁ hataśriyam | vimṛśya prajñayā dhīra jahīmaṁ sthaviraṁ drumam ||
Bhishma sprach: „O Standhafter, erwäge mit klarem Verstand: Dieser Baum hat das Ende seiner Lebenszeit erreicht; seine Kraft ist dahin, sein inneres Mark ist geschwunden, und sein Glanz ist verloren. Nachdem du dies weise bedacht hast, verlasse nun diesen greisen Baum.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Use discerning wisdom to recognize decline and impermanence; when something has lost its life-force, capacity, and purpose, one should let go without attachment, acting with calm judgment rather than sentiment.
Bhīṣma addresses Śuka and points to an aged, depleted tree as an instructive example. He urges Śuka to observe its clear signs of exhaustion and, after thoughtful consideration, to abandon it—using the tree as a moral emblem for timely renunciation.