Shloka 23
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
अनाब्याश्वापि जीवन्ति राज्यं चाप्यनुशासति । बुद्धिपौरुषसम्पन्नास्त्वया तुल्याधिका जना:
anāḍhyāś cāpi jīvanti rājyaṃ cāpy anuśāsati | buddhi-pauruṣa-sampannās tvayā tulyādhikā janāḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「富なき者でさえ生き続け、ある者は王国を治めさえする。人の中には、知恵と雄々しい決意において汝と等しい者があり、あるいは汝を凌ぐ者すらいよう。だが彼らは汝のように嘆き沈まぬ。ゆえに汝も嘆くな。理解と努力において、汝は彼らに等しい、あるいは勝っているではないか。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma urges the listener to abandon debilitating grief by reflecting on resilience: many people, even without wealth, sustain life and shoulder responsibility; possessing intellect and resolve should lead to steadiness rather than sorrow.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira after the war, offering ethical and practical counsel. Here he challenges excessive lamentation and redirects the mind toward fortitude, reason, and purposeful action.