Shloka 1013

ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana

River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor

Devanagari script

अनित्यमध्रुवं सर्व व्यवसायो हि दुष्कर: । 'ऊँचे चढ़नेका अन्त है नीचे गिरना तथा जन्मका अन्त है मृत्यु। जो कुछ देखनेमें आता है, वह सब नाशवान्‌ है, अस्थिर है तो भी इसका निरन्तर स्मरण रहना कठिन हो जाता है

Transliteration

anityam adhruvaṁ sarvaṁ vyavasāyo hi duṣkaraḥ |

Translation

Bhishma said: All that is seen in the world is impermanent and unstable; yet to keep this truth steadily in mind and to live with firm resolve in accordance with it is indeed difficult. The rise ends in a fall, birth ends in death—everything that appears is destined to perish, but constant remembrance of this fact is hard to sustain.

Word by Word

अनित्यम्impermanent

अध्रुवम्unstable, not lasting

सर्वःevery, all

व्यवसायःundertaking, effort, enterprise

हिindeed, for

दुष्करःdifficult

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes