Shloka 22
प्रजाविसर्ग-तत्त्वनिर्णयः | Cosmogony of Elemental Emergence
Bharadvāja–Bhṛgu Dialogue
दुर्बलं बलवन्तं च शूरं भीरुं जडं कविम् । अप्राप्तं सर्वकामार्थान् मृत्युरादाय गच्छति,कोई दुर्बल हो या बलवान, शूरवीर हो या डरपोक तथा मूर्ख हो या विद्वान, मृत्यु उसकी समस्त कामनाओंके पूर्ण होनेसे पहले ही उसे उठा ले जाती है
durbalaṁ balavantaṁ ca śūraṁ bhīruṁ jaḍaṁ kavim | aprāptaṁ sarvakāmārthān mṛtyur ādāya gacchati ||
Bhishma said: Whether one is weak or strong, brave or fearful, dull-witted or learned, Death carries him away before he has attained the full range of his desired aims.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Death is impartial and inevitable: it takes the weak and the strong, the brave and the fearful, the foolish and the learned—often before their desires are fulfilled. Hence one should not rely on worldly distinctions or delay righteous action; urgency in dharma and inner preparedness are implied.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and right living after the war. Here he underscores the uncertainty of life and the universality of death, using paired contrasts to show that no human category provides protection from mortality.