Shloka 80

ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana

River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor

Devanagari script

न हि त्वां नोत्सहे हन्तुं सवज़मपि मुष्टिना । न तु विक्रमकालो<यं क्षमाकालोडयमागत:

Transliteration

na hi tvāṁ notsahe hantuṁ sarvajam api muṣṭinā | na tu vikrama-kālo ’yaṁ kṣamā-kālo ’yam āgataḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma dit : «Ce n’est pas que je manque de puissance pour te terrasser—fût-ce d’un poing nu, alors même que tu tiens le foudre (vajra). Mais ce n’est pas l’heure d’étaler la vaillance ; pour moi, le temps venu est celui de la patience et du pardon.»

Word by Word

• {'na hi': 'indeed not

• certainly not', 'tvām': 'you (accusative singular)', 'notsahe (na + utsahe)': 'I do not refrain / I am not unable

• I do not lack the resolve (here: ‘it is not that I cannot’)', 'hantum': 'to kill, to strike down', 'sarvajam': 'thunderbolt (vajra)

• lit. ‘born of all (powers)’—a name for Indra’s weapon', 'api': 'even

• although', 'muṣṭinā': 'with the fist', 'na tu': 'but not

• however', 'vikrama-kālaḥ': 'time for valor/heroic exertion', 'ayam': 'this', 'kṣamā-kālaḥ': 'time for patience, forgiveness, forbearance', 'āgataḥ': 'has come

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• vajra (thunderbolt weapon)
• Yamaloka (implied by the Hindi gloss: ‘realm of Yama’)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True strength is not merely the capacity to harm; it is the discernment to restrain power when dharma calls for patience and forgiveness. Bhishma contrasts ‘vikrama’ (heroic force) with ‘kṣamā’ (forbearance) and chooses the latter as ethically appropriate.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma addresses an opponent who possesses a formidable weapon (vajra). He asserts that he could still kill even with his fist, yet declares that the present moment is not for demonstrating might; it is a moment to practice forgiveness and self-control.