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,जो वस्तु पहले थी और होगी, वह सब न तो थी और न होगी ही। इस प्रकार जानने योग्य तत्त्वको जान लेनेपर तुम सम्पूर्ण अधर्मोंसे छुटकारा पा जाओगे
yaddhi bhūtaṁ bhaviṣyaṁ ca sarvaṁ tanna bhaviṣyati | evaṁ viditatavedyastvam adharmebhyaḥ pramokṣyase ||
Was man für die Gesamtheit von Vergangenheit und Zukunft hält—nichts davon wird zu einer dauerhaften Wirklichkeit. Wenn du so das Erkennbare recht erkannt hast, wirst du von allen Formen des Adharma befreit.
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.