Shloka 70

ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana

River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor

Devanagari script

यत्‌ तद्‌ वर्षसहस्रान्तं पूर्ण भवितुमरहति

Transliteration

yat tad varṣasahasrāntaṃ pūrṇaṃ bhavitum arhati

Translation

Bhīṣma dijo: «Aquello que está destinado a consumarse sólo al cabo de mil años, es en verdad digno de cumplirse plenamente entonces».

Word by Word

• यत्: which/that (thing)
• यत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• तत्: that (same thing)
• तत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• वर्षसहस्रान्तम्: the end of a thousand years / a thousand-year limit
• वर्षसहस्रान्तम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्षसहस्रान्त
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• पूर्णम्: complete, fulfilled
• पूर्णम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• भवितुम्: to become, to be
• भवितुम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: तुमुन्, Parasmaipada (usage-neutral in infinitive), Infinitive (purpose/complement)

• अर्हति: is fit/deserves/ought
• अर्हति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma emphasizes the ethical insight that outcomes ripen according to their proper time: what is meant to mature only after a long span should not be forced prematurely; one should act rightly and wait for due fruition.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma continues a reflective teaching about the maturation of results over time, using the idea of a ‘thousand-year completion’ to stress delayed but rightful fulfillment.