Shloka 91
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
ध्रुवं न व्यथसेउ्द्य त्वं धैर्यात् सत्यपराक्रम । को हि विश्वासमर्थेषु शरीरे वा शरीरभूत्
dhruvaṃ na vyathase ’dya tvaṃ dhairyāt satyaparākrama | ko hi viśvāsam artheṣu śarīre vā śarīrabhūt ||
ભીષ્મે કહ્યું: “નિશ્ચયે આજે તું ધૈર્યથી વિચલિત થતો નથી, હે સત્યપરાક્રમી! કારણ કે સંપત્તિમાં કે આ શરીરમાં—જે નશ્વર તત્ત્વોથી બનેલું છે—કોણ વિશ્વાસ રાખી શકે?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma praises steadiness rooted in truth and teaches non-reliance on transient supports: wealth and even the body are unstable, so one should ground conduct in dharma, courage, and inner firmness rather than in perishable externals.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhīṣma addresses his listener with counsel: he notes the listener’s present composure and reinforces it by reminding that neither possessions nor the body can be securely trusted, urging a dharmic, detached outlook.