Shloka 20
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
यथेह नियत: कालो दर्शयत्यार्तवान् गुणान् | तद्धद्धूतेष्वहंकारं विद्यात् कर्मप्रवर्तकम्
yatheha niyataḥ kālo darśayaty ārtavān guṇān | tadvad bhūteṣv ahaṅkāraṁ vidyāt karmapravartakam ||
ビーシュマは言った。「この世で定められた時が、しかるべき時に季節の性質を顕すように、同じく一切の生きものにおいては、我念（アハンカーラ）こそが行為を起動させる推進力であると知るべきである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the immediate inner driver of action in living beings is ahaṅkāra—the sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. As Time inevitably brings forth seasonal qualities in due order, ego-sense predictably activates and directs karma.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right understanding, Bhishma explains to the listener a principle of moral psychology: actions arise from an internal motive-force, identified here as ahaṅkāra, illustrated through an analogy with Time revealing the seasons.