Shloka 916
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
कर्तुमुत्सहते लोके दृष्टवा सम्प्रस्थितं जगत् । 'सत्यपराक्रमी वीर! तुम निश्चय ही धैर्यके कारण व्यथित नहीं होते हो। इस सम्पूर्ण जगत्को विनाशकी ओर जाते देखकर कौन शरीरधारी पुरुष धन-वैभव, विषय-भोग अथवा अपने शरीरपर भी विश्वास कर सकता है?
kartum utsahate loke dṛṣṭvā samprasthitaṃ jagat | satyaparākramī vīra! tvaṃ niścayaṃ hi dhairyāt vyathito na bhavasi | asya sampūrṇasya jagato vināśāya gacchato dṛṣṭvā kaḥ śarīradhārī puruṣo dhana-vaibhavaṃ viṣaya-bhogān athavā svake śarīre 'pi viśvasituṃ śaknoti?
Bhīṣma said: “O hero of true prowess, you are surely not shaken, for you are sustained by steadfast courage. Seeing this whole world set in motion toward destruction, what embodied man can place his trust in wealth and splendor, in the enjoyments of the senses, or even in his own body?”
भीष्म उवाच