Shloka 2
भीष्म उवाच मन एव मनुष्यस्य पूर्वरूपाणि शंसति । भविष्यतश्न भद्रें ते तथैव न भविष्यत:
bhīṣma uvāca: mana eva manuṣyasya pūrvarūpāṇi śaṃsati | bhaviṣyataś ca bhadraṃ te tathaiva na bhaviṣyati ||
Bhishma said: “The mind alone foretells a man’s prior signs and indications. And as for what is yet to come—may it be well with you—it does not necessarily come to pass in the very way the mind imagines.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma emphasizes the mind’s power to generate and interpret ‘signs’ about one’s condition and prospects, while also cautioning that imagined futures may not unfold as anticipated; ethical steadiness requires not being ruled by mental projections.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhishma continues advising the listener (addressed with a blessing, ‘bhadraṃ te’) and reflects on how the mind reads omens and anticipates outcomes, framing a counsel about discernment and restraint regarding future anxieties.