Shloka 35
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
गतिं च यां दर्शनमाह देवो गत्वा शुभं दर्शनमेव चापि । गति: पुनर्वर्णकृता प्रजानां वर्णस्तथा कालकृतोडसुरेन्द्र,“असुरेन्द्र! देवराज इन्द्रने मंगलमय तत्त्वज्ञान प्राप्त करके हमारे निकट जिस गति और दर्शन-शास्त्रका वर्णन किया है, वह प्राणियोंकी वर्णजनित गति है अर्थात् शुक्लवर्णवालोंको वही सिद्धि प्राप्त होती है। वह वर्ण कालकृत माना गया है
gatiṃ ca yāṃ darśanam āha devo gatvā śubhaṃ darśanam eva cāpi | gatiḥ punar varṇakṛtā prajānāṃ varṇas tathā kālakṛto ’surendra ||
Bhīṣma said: “O lord of the Asuras, the deity—Indra, king of the gods—having attained an auspicious vision (true insight), declared that very doctrine of ‘vision’ and the ‘path’ (gati). Yet the destinies of beings are again spoken of as conditioned by varṇa (color/class): beings attain corresponding results according to that varṇa. And that varṇa itself is said to be fashioned by Time (kāla).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links ‘gati’ (destiny/attainment) with ‘darśana’ (true philosophical vision) while also stating that beings’ outcomes are described as varṇa-conditioned, and that varṇa itself is produced by Kāla (Time). Ethically, it frames human differences and results as arising from larger causal order rather than mere personal claim, urging humility and discernment.
Bhishma continues an instructive discourse and addresses an ‘Asurendra,’ reporting what a deity taught after attaining an auspicious insight: the doctrine of vision and the path, and how beings’ destinies are spoken of in relation to varṇa, with Time presented as the ultimate maker of that varṇa.