Shloka 1013
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
अनित्यमध्रुवं सर्व व्यवसायो हि दुष्कर: । 'ऊँचे चढ़नेका अन्त है नीचे गिरना तथा जन्मका अन्त है मृत्यु। जो कुछ देखनेमें आता है, वह सब नाशवान् है, अस्थिर है तो भी इसका निरन्तर स्मरण रहना कठिन हो जाता है
anityam adhruvaṁ sarvaṁ vyavasāyo hi duṣkaraḥ |
Dijo Bhīṣma: Todo lo que se ve en el mundo es impermanente e inestable; y, sin embargo, mantener esta verdad firmemente en la mente y vivir con resolución conforme a ella es, en verdad, difícil. El ascenso termina en caída, el nacimiento termina en muerte: todo cuanto aparece está destinado a perecer, pero sostener su recuerdo constante cuesta mantenerlo.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The core teaching is the disciplined remembrance of impermanence: everything is transient and uncertain, and ethical living requires steady resolve despite the mind’s tendency to forget this truth.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma is advising Yudhishthira on dharma and right conduct after the war, emphasizing the fleeting nature of worldly conditions and the difficulty of maintaining constant awareness of it.