Shloka 44
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
संचये च विनाशान्ते मरणान्ते च जीविते । संयोगे च वियोगान्ते को नु विप्रणयेन्मन:,जब संग्रहका अन्त विनाश ही है, जब जीवनका अन्त मृत्यु ही है और जब संयोगका अन्त वियोग ही है, तब इनकी ओर कौन अपना मन लगायेगा?
sañcaye ca vināśānte maraṇānte ca jīvite | saṃyoge ca viyogānte ko nu vipraṇayen manaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Since accumulation ends in destruction, life ends in death, and every union ends in separation, who indeed would fasten the mind upon these transient things? The wise, seeing their inevitable end, restrain attachment and turn toward steadier aims of dharma and inner freedom.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
All conditioned things are impermanent: possessions perish, life ends in death, and relationships culminate in separation. Therefore one should not cling to them, but cultivate detachment and orient the mind toward dharma and liberation.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhishthira, Bhishma continues his ethical teaching by emphasizing impermanence as a basis for reducing attachment and grief, guiding the king toward steadier, dharmic priorities after the war.