Shloka 16
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
नियतो जप चैकाग्रो धर्मस्त्वां समुपैष्यति | कालो मृत्युर्यमश्वैव समायास्यन्ति तेडन्तिकम्
niyato japa caikāgro dharmas tvāṁ samupaiṣyati | kālo mṛtyur yamaś caiva samāyāsyanti te ’ntikam ||
നിയമത്തോടെ ജീവിച്ച് ഏകാഗ്രചിത്തത്തോടെ ജപം ചെയ്യുക; അപ്പോൾ ധർമ്മം തന്നേ നിന്റെ അടുക്കൽ വരും. കാലവും മരണവും യമനും അനിവാര്യമായി നിന്റെ സമീപത്തേക്ക് എത്തും.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that disciplined living and focused japa cultivate inner steadiness, by which Dharma becomes accessible in one’s life; simultaneously, one should remember the inevitability of Time and Death, using that awareness to intensify ethical and spiritual practice.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the listener on right conduct: he urges regulated practice and concentrated recitation, and he underscores human mortality by invoking Kāla, Mṛtyu, and Yama as forces that inevitably approach every person.