Shloka 22
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
अनागतं यन्न ममेति विद्या- दतिक्रान्तं यन्न ममेति विद्यात् दिष्टं बलीय इति मन्यमाना- स्ते पण्डितास्तत्सतां स्थानमाहु:
anāgataṁ yan na mameti vidyād atikrāntaṁ yan na mameti vidyāt | diṣṭaṁ balīya iti manyamānās te paṇḍitās tat satāṁ sthānam āhuḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: One should understand of what has not yet come that, “It is not mine,” and of what has passed away after being obtained that, “It was not mine.” Those who hold that destiny (what is allotted) is the stronger power—such people are the truly wise; they are called the refuge and standing-ground of the good.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cultivate non-possessiveness toward both the future (what has not yet come) and the past (what has already perished). By seeing gains and losses as not truly ‘mine’ and by recognizing the force of what is allotted (diṣṭa), one becomes steady-minded; such steadiness is praised as the support of the virtuous.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and inner discipline after the war. Here he teaches a practical attitude for peace of mind: do not cling to anticipated possessions, and do not grieve over what has already passed; the wise accept the predominance of destiny and remain composed.