Shloka 18
आपद्धर्मे राज्ञः नीतिः — Bharadvāja’s Counsel on Crisis-Statecraft (Śānti Parva 138)
एवं प्राप्ततमं काल॑ यो मोहान्नावबुद्धयते । स विनश्यति वै क्षिप्र॑ दीर्घसूत्रो यथा झष:
evaṁ prāptatamaṁ kālaṁ yo mohān nāvabuddhyate | sa vinaśyati vai kṣipraṁ dīrghasūtro yathā jhaṣaḥ ||
Demikian pula, orang yang karena delusi tidak mengenali Kala (Maut) yang telah datang tepat di atas kepalanya, akan binasa dengan cepat—seperti ikan yang lamban dan terlalu lama menunda.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One must recognize the decisive moment—especially the approach of danger, decline, or death—and act with clarity; delusion and procrastination bring swift ruin.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti teachings, he uses a vivid simile: a person who does not perceive Time when it has arrived is destroyed quickly, like a fish that delays and is caught or killed.