Shloka 89
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
सवज़मुद्यतं बाहुं दृष्टवा पाशांश्व वारुणान्
savajram udyataṃ bāhuṃ dṛṣṭvā pāśāṃś ca vāruṇān | daityarāja! mama bāhuṃ vajra-varuṇapāśa-sahitam ūrdhvaṃ kṛtvā hantum icchayāgatāyā mṛtyor api hṛdayaṃ kampate; punaḥ kaḥ sa anyaḥ yasya buddhir na vyathate | tava buddhis tattva-jñāna-yuktā sthirā ca; tasmāt sā kṣaṇam api na vicalati ||
ビーシュマは言った。「ダイティヤの王よ！ 殺意を抱いて来る死そのものですら、我が腕が高く掲げられ、ヴァジュラとヴァルナの縄（パーシャ）を携えるのを見れば肝を震わせる。ならば他の誰が心を揺さぶられずにいられようか。だが汝の知は真実を見抜き、揺るぎなく定まっている。ゆえに一瞬たりとも動じぬのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True steadiness comes from tattva-jñāna—clear knowledge of reality. External threats that shake ordinary minds need not disturb one whose intellect is disciplined and rooted in truth.
Bhishma addresses a Daitya-king, describing the terrifying power of his raised arm armed with vajra and Varuṇa’s nooses—so formidable that even personified Death would tremble—then praises the Daitya-king for remaining unshaken due to his stable, truth-knowing intellect.