Shloka 20
बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency
Mahābhārata 12.217
अन्तकाले बलोत्कर्षाच्छनै: कुर्यादनातुर: । एवं युक्तेन मनसा ज्ञानं यदुपपद्यते
antakāle balotkarṣāc chanaiḥ kuryād anāturaḥ | evaṁ yuktena manasā jñānaṁ yad upapadyate ||
जीवन के अन्तिम समय में जो व्याकुल नहीं होता, वह अपनी पूरी शक्ति लगाकर धीरे-धीरे आगे बढ़े। योग से संयमित मन द्वारा जो यथार्थ ज्ञान उपलब्ध हो, उसे क्रमशः दृढ़ता से प्राप्त करे; प्राणान्त तक धैर्य न छोड़े।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual attainment is not a sudden leap but a disciplined, gradual effort: even toward life’s end, one should steadily intensify practice without agitation, and with a yoga-trained mind secure whatever knowledge becomes attainable, never abandoning patience.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira on dharma and inner cultivation. Here he emphasizes sustained, step-by-step yogic effort and mental steadiness as the means to attain liberating knowledge, even in one’s final days.