Shloka 8436
सो<यं पचति कालो मां वृक्षे फलमिवागतम् । नमैं कर्ता हूँ, न तुम कर्ता हो। जो वास्तवमें सदा कर्ता है, वह सर्वसमर्थ काल वृक्षपर लगे हुए फलके समान मुझे पका रहा है
so ’yaṃ pacati kālo māṃ vṛkṣe phalam ivāgatam | na me kartā ’haṃ, na tvaṃ kartā | yo hi tattvataḥ sadā kartā sa sarvasamarthaḥ kālaḥ vṛkṣastha-phala-vat mām pacayati ||
Bhishma said: “This all-powerful Time is ripening me, just as a fruit ripens upon a tree when its season has come. I am not the doer, and you are not the doer. In truth, the one who is ever the real agent is Time itself—fully capable—bringing my life to its destined maturity like a fruit on the branch.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches humility and detachment regarding agency: individuals should not cling to the idea “I am the doer.” Ultimately, the decisive force that brings events to fruition—especially life’s decline and death—is Kāla (Time). Recognizing this reduces pride, blame, and grief, and supports steadiness in dharma.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs the listener (traditionally Yudhishthira) on dharma and wisdom after the war. Here he reflects on his own condition and approaching end, explaining it through the metaphor of a fruit ripening on a tree: his fate is being completed by Time, not by personal will or another’s agency.