Shloka 103

ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana

River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor

Devanagari script

कालेनाक्रम्य लोके5स्मिन्‌ पच्यमाने बलीयसा

Transliteration

kālenākramya loke 'smin pacyamāne balīyasā

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Lorsque le Temps, tout-puissant, s’avance et submerge ce monde, tous les êtres sont comme “cuits” — mûris puis consumés — par une puissance plus forte que tout effort individuel.»

Word by Word

• कालेन: by time
• कालेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• आक्रम्य: having overpowered / having attacked
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-क्रम्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• पच्यमाने: while being cooked/tormented (i.e., being afflicted)
• पच्यमाने: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: पच्
• Form: शानच् (present passive participle; आत्मनेपद-प्रयोग), Masculine, Locative, Singular

• बलीयसा: by the stronger (power)
• बलीयसा: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बलिन् (comparative: बलीयस्)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kāla (Time)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse stresses the supremacy of Kāla (Time): it overpowers the world and ‘cooks’ all beings, implying inevitability, impermanence, and the need for humility and detachment in ethical life.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right understanding after the war; here he emphasizes that Time, stronger than all, overtakes the world and subjects everyone to change, decline, and death.