Shloka 20
बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency
Mahābhārata 12.217
अन्तकाले बलोत्कर्षाच्छनै: कुर्यादनातुर: । एवं युक्तेन मनसा ज्ञानं यदुपपद्यते
antakāle balotkarṣāc chanaiḥ kuryād anāturaḥ | evaṁ yuktena manasā jñānaṁ yad upapadyate ||
Bhishma dit : Au dernier temps de la vie, celui qui n’est pas accablé doit, par une mise en œuvre régulière de sa force, avancer graduellement. Ainsi, l’esprit discipliné par le Yoga, toute connaissance vraie qui devient accessible doit être acquise—lentement, avec persévérance, sans jamais renoncer à la patience jusqu’au terme de la vie.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual attainment is not a sudden leap but a disciplined, gradual effort: even toward life’s end, one should steadily intensify practice without agitation, and with a yoga-trained mind secure whatever knowledge becomes attainable, never abandoning patience.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira on dharma and inner cultivation. Here he emphasizes sustained, step-by-step yogic effort and mental steadiness as the means to attain liberating knowledge, even in one’s final days.