Shloka 44
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
कि करिष्यथ शोचित्वा मृतं किमनुशोचथ । सर्वस्य हि प्रभु: कालो धर्मत: समदर्शन:
kiṁ kariṣyatha śocitvā mṛtaṁ kim anuśocatha | sarvasya hi prabhuḥ kālo dharmataḥ samadarśanaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “What will you accomplish by grieving? Why lament for one who is already dead—can you bring him back to life? Time alone is the ruler and master of all; in accordance with dharma it looks upon everyone with equal regard.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grief cannot reverse death; therefore one should restrain excessive lamentation and recognize Kāla (Time) as the impartial sovereign operating in accordance with dharma.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs and consoles by redirecting attention from emotional lament to a dharmic understanding of mortality and the inevitability of Time.