Shloka 14
शुकस्य योगसिद्धिः (Śuka’s Yogic Attainment and Ascent)
कुतो5हमागत: को5स्मि क्व गमिष्यामि कस्य वा । कस्मिन् स्थित: क्व भविता कस्मात्किमनुशोचसि
kuto 'ham āgataḥ ko 'smi kva gamiṣyāmi kasya vā | kasmin sthitaḥ kva bhavitā kasmāt kim anuśocasi ||
Bhīṣma dit : «D’où suis-je venu ? Qui suis-je ? Où irai-je ? À qui, en vérité, est-ce que j’appartiens ? Dans quelle condition suis-je établi, et dans quel état renaîtrai-je ? Si ces choses sont si incertaines et changeantes, pour quelle raison—et sur quoi, au juste—t’affliges-tu ?»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma redirects the mind from sorrow to discernment: when identity, ownership, destination, and future embodiment are uncertain and transient, grief rooted in possessiveness and fixed notions of “mine” and “me” loses its basis. The verse urges self-inquiry and detachment as a foundation for dharmic clarity.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira after the war, addressing his remorse and sorrow. Here he challenges the very assumptions behind lamentation by posing a chain of existential questions about origin, identity, destination, belonging, and rebirth.