Shloka 8436
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
सो<यं पचति कालो मां वृक्षे फलमिवागतम् । नमैं कर्ता हूँ, न तुम कर्ता हो। जो वास्तवमें सदा कर्ता है, वह सर्वसमर्थ काल वृक्षपर लगे हुए फलके समान मुझे पका रहा है
so ’yaṃ pacati kālo māṃ vṛkṣe phalam ivāgatam | na me kartā ’haṃ, na tvaṃ kartā | yo hi tattvataḥ sadā kartā sa sarvasamarthaḥ kālaḥ vṛkṣastha-phala-vat mām pacayati ||
ビーシュマは言った。「この全能の時は、季節が来たとき樹上の果が熟すように、我を熟させている。我は作者にあらず、汝も作者にあらず。まことに、常に真の行為者であるのは時そのもの—万事に堪能なるもの—であり、枝の果のごとく、我が命を定められた成熟へと導くのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches humility and detachment regarding agency: individuals should not cling to the idea “I am the doer.” Ultimately, the decisive force that brings events to fruition—especially life’s decline and death—is Kāla (Time). Recognizing this reduces pride, blame, and grief, and supports steadiness in dharma.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs the listener (traditionally Yudhishthira) on dharma and wisdom after the war. Here he reflects on his own condition and approaching end, explaining it through the metaphor of a fruit ripening on a tree: his fate is being completed by Time, not by personal will or another’s agency.