Shloka 1
प्रजाविसर्ग-तत्त्वनिर्णयः | Cosmogony of Elemental Emergence
Bharadvāja–Bhṛgu Dialogue
(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके ३ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ६६ श्लोक हैं) अपने-आप बछ। सं: पजञज्चसप्तत्याधेकशततमो< ध्याय: अपने कल्याणकी इच्छा रखनेवाले पुरुषका क्या कर्तव्य है, इस विषयमें पिताके प्रति पुत्रद्वारा ज्ञानका उपदेश युधिछिर उवाच अतिक्रामति काले<स्मिन् सर्वभूतक्षयावहे । कि श्रेय: प्रतिपद्येत तन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह,राजा युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--पितामह! समस्त भूतोंका संहार करनेवाला यह काल बराबर बीता जा रहा है, ऐसी अवस्थामें मनुष्य क्या करनेसे कल्याणका भागी हो सकता है? यह मुझे बताइये
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
atikrāmati kāle 'smin sarvabhūtakṣayāvahe |
kiṃ śreyaḥ pratipadyeta tan me brūhi pitāmaha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Grandfather, this Time—bringing the destruction of all beings—keeps passing on without pause. In such a condition, what course should a person adopt so as to attain the highest good? Tell me that.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the central ethical-spiritual problem: since Time inevitably carries all beings toward destruction, one should seek śreyas—enduring welfare rather than merely transient gains—by adopting the right course of dharma and inner discipline, as will be explained by Bhīṣma in the ensuing instruction.
In the Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, King Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīṣma as ‘Grandfather’ and asks for guidance: with life rapidly passing under the power of Time, what path should a person choose to secure true well-being.