Shloka 21
यदेवमनुजातस्य धातारो विदधु: पुरा । तदेवानुचरिष्यामि किं मे मृत्यु: करिष्यति,पूर्वकालमें विधाताने मेरे लिये जैसा विधान रच रक्खा है, मैं जन्मके पश्चात् उसीका अनुसरण करता आया हूँ और आगे भी करूँगा; अतः मृत्यु मेरा क्या करेगी?
yad evam anujātasya dhātāro vidadhuḥ purā | tad evānucariṣyāmi kiṁ me mṛtyuḥ kariṣyati ||
Bhīṣma said: “Whatever ordinance the cosmic ordainers once laid down for me at the very outset of my life, that alone I have followed since my birth—and that I shall continue to follow. What, then, can Death do to me?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steadfast adherence to one’s ordained dharma and life-course removes fear of death: when one acts in alignment with the dispensation set by the cosmic order, death loses its power to intimidate.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhishma speaks from his bed of arrows, expressing unwavering resolve: he has lived according to what was ordained for him and will continue so, declaring that death cannot shake him.