Shloka 23
जीवन्तमपि चैवैनं भरणे रक्षणे तथा । असमाप्ते परित्यज्य पश्चादपि मरिष्यसि,मृते वा त्वयि जीवे वा यदा भोक्ष्यति वै जनः । स्वकृतं ननु बुद्ध्वैवं कर्तव्यं हितमात्मन: “तुम जीवित रहो या मर जाओ। तुम्हारा प्रत्येक स््वजन जब अपनी-अपनी करनीका ही फल भोगेगा, तब इस बातको जानकर तुम्हें भी अपने कल्याणके लिये साधनमें लग जाना चाहिये”
jīvantam api caivainaṃ bharaṇe rakṣaṇe tathā | asamāpte parityajya paścād api mariṣyasi, mṛte vā tvayi jīve vā yadā bhokṣyati vai janaḥ | svakṛtaṃ nanu buddhvaivaṃ kartavyaṃ hitam ātmanaḥ ||
Bhishma said: Even if you keep him alive—supporting and protecting him—if you abandon him before his allotted end, you too will later meet death. Whether you live or die, each person will in due time experience the results of his own deeds. Knowing this, apply yourself to what is truly beneficial for your highest good.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma emphasizes karma and personal responsibility: each person must inevitably experience the results of their own actions, so one should not be paralyzed by anxiety over others’ fates but instead pursue what truly leads to one’s own welfare and spiritual good.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhishma counsels the listener on the inevitability of death and the inescapability of one’s own karmic results, urging a turn from anxious attachment toward purposeful effort for one’s own highest benefit.