Shloka 13
श्वः कार्यमद्य कुर्वीत पूर्वाह्न चापराह्निकम् | न हि प्रतीक्षते मृत्यु: कृतं वास्य न वा कृतम्,इसलिये जिस कामको कल करना हो, उसे आज ही कर ले। जिसे अपराह्वमें करना हो, उसे पूर्वाह्नमें ही कर डाले; क्योंकि मृत्यु इस बातकी प्रतीक्षा नहीं करती कि इसका काम पूरा हो गया या नहीं
śvaḥ kāryam adya kurvīta pūrvāhṇaṃ cāparāhṇikam | na hi pratīkṣate mṛtyuḥ kṛtaṃ vāsyā na vā kṛtam ||
Bhīṣma said: “Do today the task you would otherwise do tomorrow. Do in the forenoon what you would put off to the afternoon; for Death does not wait to see whether one’s work has been completed or left undone.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not postpone duties: complete what must be done as early as possible, because death can arrive at any moment and does not wait for one’s plans or unfinished work.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira with practical counsel: urgency in fulfilling one’s responsibilities, grounded in the uncertainty of life and the inevitability of death.