Shloka 121
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
कौमाराद् यौवन चापि स्थावीर्य चापि यौवनात् | अनेन क्रमयोगेन पूर्व पूर्व न लभ्यते
kaumārād yauvanaṃ cāpi sthāvīryaṃ cāpi yauvanāt | anena kramayogena pūrvaṃ pūrvaṃ na labhyate ||
Bhīṣma dit : «De l’enfance on passe à la jeunesse, et de la jeunesse on passe à la vieillesse. Par cette progression ordonnée, ce qui est passé ne peut être retrouvé.»
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Life moves in an irreversible sequence—childhood to youth to old age—so one should not postpone dharma, learning, restraint, and inner cultivation, since earlier capacities and opportunities do not return once lost.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous living and wisdom after the war; here he emphasizes the one-way flow of time and the need to act rightly while one has strength and clarity.