Shloka 20
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
यथेह नियत: कालो दर्शयत्यार्तवान् गुणान् | तद्धद्धूतेष्वहंकारं विद्यात् कर्मप्रवर्तकम्,जैसे इस जगत्में नियत काल यथासमय ऋतु-सम्बन्धी गुणोंको प्रकट कर दिखाता है, उसी प्रकार समस्त प्राणियोंमें अहंकारको ही उनके कर्मोंका प्रवर्तक जानना चाहिये
yatheha niyataḥ kālo darśayaty ārtavān guṇān | tadvad bhūteṣv ahaṅkāraṁ vidyāt karmapravartakam ||
Bhishma said: Just as, in this world, fixed Time reveals the qualities of the seasons at their proper moment, so too one should understand that in all beings it is ego-sense (the ‘I’-notion) that sets their actions in motion.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the immediate inner driver of action in living beings is ahaṅkāra—the sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. As Time inevitably brings forth seasonal qualities in due order, ego-sense predictably activates and directs karma.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right understanding, Bhishma explains to the listener a principle of moral psychology: actions arise from an internal motive-force, identified here as ahaṅkāra, illustrated through an analogy with Time revealing the seasons.