Shloka 18
Śaraṇāgatapālana—Prastāvanā
Protection of the Refuge-Seeker: Opening of the Kapota Narrative
वहेदमित्र स्कन्धेन यावत्कालस्य पर्यय: । प्राप्तकालं तु विज्ञाय भिन्द्याद् घटमिवाश्मनि
vahed amitraṃ skandhena yāvat kālasya paryayaḥ | prāptakālaṃ tu vijñāya bhindyād ghaṭam ivāśmani ||
ビーシュマは言った。「時の巡りがまだ己に味方せぬ間は、慎重さが求めるなら、敵を肩に載せて運ぶことさえ耐えよ。だが好機が到来し、それと見定めたなら、石に叩きつけた壺のように、断乎として打ち砕け。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches strategic patience governed by kāla (time/circumstance): endure and even outwardly accommodate an enemy when conditions are unfavorable, but when the decisive moment arrives, act firmly and conclusively. The ethical frame is rājadharma—protecting one’s aims and realm through prudent timing rather than impulsive confrontation.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and conduct, Bhishma offers a vivid political-ethical maxim. He uses the metaphor of carrying an enemy on one’s shoulder during adverse times, then shattering him like a pot on stone when favorable conditions return—illustrating how a ruler should calibrate action to changing circumstances.