Shloka 44
अविश्वस्ते विश्वसिषि मन्यसे वाध्रुवे ध्रुवम् । नित्यं कालपरीतात्मा भवत्येवं सुरेश्वर,देवेश्वर! नाशवान् होनेके कारण जो विश्वासके योग्य नहीं है, उस राज्यपर तुम विश्वास करते हो और जो अस्थिर है, उसे स्थिर मानते हो; किंतु इसमें कोई आश्वर्यकी बात नहीं है; क्योंकि कालने जिसके हृदयपर अधिकार कर लिया हो, वह सदा ऐसी ही विपरीत भावनासे भावित होता है
aviśvaste viśvasiṣi manyase vādhruve dhruvam | nityaṁ kālaparītātmā bhavaty evaṁ sureśvara deveśvara ||
Bhishma said: You place your trust in what is not truly trustworthy, and you take what is unstable to be stable. Yet this is no wonder, O lord of the gods, O divine ruler—for one whose inner self is overpowered by Time is continually driven into such inverted judgment.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not mistake the impermanent for permanent or the unreliable for reliable; when the mind is seized by Kāla (Time/fate), discernment becomes inverted, so one must cultivate clear judgment and detachment.
Bhishma addresses the lord of the gods (Indra), admonishing him for trusting unstable worldly power (a kingdom) and explaining that such error arises naturally when Time has taken hold of one’s inner self.