Shloka 48
Chapter 47: Krauñca-vyūha Deployment and Conch-Signals
Kaurava–Pāṇḍava Readiness
भीष्म उवाच न सम तं तात पश्यामि समरे यो जयेत माम् | न तावन्मृत्युकालो5पि पुनरागमनं कुरु,भीष्म बोले--बेटा! जो समरभूमिमें मुझे जीत ले, ऐसे किसी वीरको मैं नहीं देखता हूँ। अभी मेरा मृत्युकाल भी नहीं आया है; अतः अपने इस प्रश्नका उत्तर लेनेके लिये फिर कभी आना
bhīṣma uvāca | na samaṃ taṃ tāta paśyāmi samare yo jayeta mām | na tāvan mṛtyu-kālo 'pi punar-āgamanaṃ kuru ||
Bhishma said: “My dear son, I do not see anyone on the battlefield who could defeat me in combat. Nor has my appointed time of death yet arrived; therefore, come again later to obtain the answer to your question.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights two ideas: the warrior’s confidence in his prowess, and the belief that death occurs only when one’s destined time (mṛtyu-kāla) arrives—implying that effort and fate are both acknowledged within the epic’s ethical world.
Bhishma, speaking to a younger interlocutor addressed as “tāta,” declares that no warrior in the battle can overcome him and that his time to die has not yet come; he therefore tells the questioner to return later for the requested answer.