Shloka 103
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
Devanagari script
कालेनाक्रम्य लोके5स्मिन् पच्यमाने बलीयसा
Transliteration
kālenākramya loke 'smin pacyamāne balīyasā
Translation
ビーシュマは言った。「強大なる時が進み来たり、この世界を圧し包むとき、あらゆる生きとし生けるものは、まるで『煮られる』かのように—熟し、そして食い尽くされる—個々の努力をはるかに超える力によって。」
Word by Word
कालेनby time
कालेन:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootकाल
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Singular
आक्रम्यhaving overpowered / having attacked
आक्रम्य:
TypeVerb
Rootआ-क्रम्
Formक्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)
लोकेin the world
लोके:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootलोक
FormMasculine, Locative, Singular
अस्मिन्in this
अस्मिन्:
Adhikarana
TypePronoun
Rootइदम्
FormMasculine, Locative, Singular
पच्यमानेwhile being cooked/tormented (i.e., being afflicted)
पच्यमाने:
Adhikarana
TypeVerb
Rootपच्
Formशानच् (present passive participle; आत्मनेपद-प्रयोग), Masculine, Locative, Singular
बलीयसाby the stronger (power)
बलीयसा:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootबलिन् (comparative: बलीयस्)
FormMasculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular
Speaker
भीष्म उवाच
Characters & Entities
B
BhīṣmaK
Kāla (Time)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses the supremacy of Kāla (Time): it overpowers the world and ‘cooks’ all beings, implying inevitability, impermanence, and the need for humility and detachment in ethical life.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right understanding after the war; here he emphasizes that Time, stronger than all, overtakes the world and subjects everyone to change, decline, and death.