Shloka 9
पुत्र बवाच मृत्युनाभ्याहतो लोको जरया परिवारित: । अहोरात्रा: पतन्तीमे तच्च कस्मान्न बुद्धासे,पुत्र बोला--पिताजी! देखिये, मृत्यु सारे जगत्को पीट रही है। बुढ़ापेने इसे घेर लिया है। ये दिन और रात्रियाँ हमपर टूटी पड़ती हैं। इस बातको आप समझ क्यों नहीं रहे हैं?
putra uvāca mṛtyunābhyāhato loko jarayā parivāritaḥ | ahorātrāḥ patantīme tacca kasmān na buddhyase ||
The son said: “Father, look—Death is striking down the whole world, and old age has surrounded it on every side. These days and nights keep falling upon us without pause. Why do you not understand this?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse urges wakefulness to impermanence: death and old age are inevitable, and time (days and nights) relentlessly passes. Recognizing this is meant to provoke ethical seriousness, detachment from complacency, and timely pursuit of dharma and wisdom.
Within Bhishma’s discourse, a son addresses his father, pointing out the universal condition—mortality, aging, and the ceaseless fall of time—and challenges him for not grasping this truth. The line functions as a sharp admonition meant to awaken reflection.