Shloka 1036
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
अज्येष्ठमकनिष्ठं च क्षिप्यमाणो न बुद्धयते । “अत्यन्त बलवान् काल इस सम्पूर्ण जगत्पर आक्रमण करके सबको अपनी आँचमें पका रहा है। वह इस बातको नहीं देखता है कि कौन छोटा है और कौन बड़ा? सब लोग कालाग्निमें झोंके जा रहे हैं
ajyeṣṭham akaniṣṭhaṃ ca kṣipyamāṇo na budhyate | atyanta-balavān kālaḥ samastaṃ jagad ākrāmya sarvān svāyāṃcāṃ pacati | sa na paśyati ko laghuḥ ko mahān iti | sarve lokāḥ kālāgnau kṣipyante, tathāpi kasyacid api na cetaḥ prabudhyate |
Dijo Bhīṣma: El Tiempo, arrojando a todos los seres hacia adelante, no distingue entre mayor y menor. El Tiempo es supremamente poderoso; tras invadir el mundo entero, “cuece” a todos en su propio calor. No mira quién es pequeño y quién es grande. Todos los hombres están siendo lanzados al fuego del Tiempo—y aun así, casi nadie despierta a esta verdad.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time (kāla) is an irresistible, impartial force that consumes all—great and small alike. Recognizing this should awaken vigilance, humility, and detachment, urging one to live dharmically without pride in status or security in worldly permanence.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction, Bhishma warns Yudhishthira about the nature of Time: it overruns the world and drives everyone toward destruction without distinguishing rank or age. He laments that people, though being ‘thrown into the fire of Time,’ still fail to become inwardly alert.