Shloka 125
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
कस्येदं कस्य वा नेदं कुतो वेद न वा कुतः । सम्बन्ध: को<स्ति भूतानां स्वैरप्पवयवैरिह
bhīṣma uvāca | kasyedaṃ kasya vā nedaṃ kuto veda na vā kutaḥ | sambandhaḥ ko 'sti bhūtānāṃ svair apy avayavair iha ||
Bhishma said: “Whose is this, and whose is it not? Who can truly know whence it comes, or whence it does not? What real connection exists here for living beings even with their own limbs?” In this teaching, Bhishma points to the ceaseless, forceful flux of worldly existence: since all conditions shift from state to state without pause, claims of possession, origin, and fixed identity become ultimately untenable.
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse undermines possessiveness and fixed identity by stressing that in a world of constant change, claims like “this is mine/not mine” and certainty about origins are ultimately unreliable; even the bond between a being and its own body-parts is not absolute.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on peace and right understanding, Bhishma continues his philosophical counsel, steering the listener away from attachment and toward a detached, discerning view of worldly relations.