Shloka 743
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
कि कत्थसे मां कि च त्वं कालेन निरपत्रप: । इन्द्र! हम कैसे हैं, यह तुम्हीं अच्छी तरह जानते हो। वासव! मैं तुम्हें भली-भाँति जानता हूँ; फिर भी तुम लज्जाको तिलाउ्जलि दे क्यों मेरे सामने व्यर्थ आत्मश्लाघा कर रहे हो। वास्तवमें काल ही यह सब कुछ करा रहा है
kiṁ katthase māṁ kiṁ ca tvaṁ kālena nirapatrapaḥ | indra! vayaṁ kīdṛśāḥ sma iti tvam eva suṣṭhu jānāsi | vāsava! ahaṁ tvāṁ bhṛśaṁ jānāmi; tathāpi tvaṁ lajjāṁ tilāñjaliṁ dattvā mama purato vṛthā ātmaślāghāṁ kim iti karoṣi | vastutaḥ kāla eva etat sarvaṁ kārayati |
Bhishma said: “Why do you boast before me, and why do you, shameless under the compulsion of Time, speak so? O Indra, you know well what sort of men we are. O Vasava, I know you thoroughly too; yet you cast modesty aside and indulge in pointless self-praise in my presence. In truth, it is Time alone that makes all this happen.”
भीष्म उवाच