Shloka 683
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
तेन गर्जसि देवेन्द्र पूर्व कालहते मयि । देवराज! जिस कालका पहले मुझपर धावा हुआ है, वही पीछे तुमपर भी चढ़ाई करेगा। मैं पहले कालसे पीड़ित हो गया हूँ; इसीलिये तुम सामने खड़े होकर गरज रहे हो
tena garjasi devendra pūrva-kāla-hate mayi | devarāja! yasya kālasya pūrvaṁ mayi dhāvaḥ kṛtaḥ sa eva paścād api tvayi cāḍhāyī bhaviṣyati | ahaṁ pūrvaṁ kālena pīḍitaḥ; tasmāt tvaṁ sammukhaṁ tiṣṭhan garjasi |
Bhīṣma berkata: “Maka engkau mengaum, wahai Devendra, berdiri di hadapanku yang telah lebih dahulu dipukul oleh Kāla. Wahai raja para dewa, Waktu yang mula-mula menerjangku itu kelak akan maju menyerangmu juga. Aku telah lebih dulu ditimpa Waktu; sebab itulah engkau berdiri di depanku dan menggelegar.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the mightiest—Indra included—cannot escape Kāla (Time/Death). Bhīṣma highlights the ethical need for humility and clear-sightedness: power and pride are temporary, while Time ultimately overcomes all embodied beings.
Bhīṣma addresses Indra directly, explaining that Indra’s confident roaring is only because Bhīṣma has already been subdued by Time. Bhīṣma warns that the same force of Time that has already afflicted him will, in due course, also come upon Indra.