Shloka 42
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
इदं तु लब्ध्वा संस्थानमात्मानं बहु मन्यसे । सर्वभूतभवं देवं ब्रह्माणमिव शाश्वतम्
idaṁ tu labdhvā saṁsthānam ātmānaṁ bahu manyase | sarvabhūtabhavaṁ devaṁ brahmāṇam iva śāśvatam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ayant obtenu ce rang et cette condition incarnée, tu te surestimes—comme si tu étais le dieu éternel Brahmā, source de tous les êtres. Pourtant, cette souveraineté n’a jamais prouvé qu’elle fût immuable ni qu’elle durât sans fin : beaucoup l’ont portée puis l’ont quittée. Ce n’est que par l’égarement de ton propre esprit que tu l’imagines véritablement tienne.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and status are impermanent; pride based on office or bodily circumstance is delusion. One should cultivate humility and discernment, remembering that even the highest positions pass from one holder to another.
Bhishma admonishes a proud ruler (implicitly one who identifies with a high office such as Indra-like lordship), warning that such supremacy is not eternal. He contrasts the hearer’s self-exaltation with Brahmā’s truly cosmic role, to expose the hearer’s mistaken self-importance.