Shloka 81
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
भीष्मजी कहते हैं--राजन्! तदनन्तर काल, मृत्यु और सर्प जैसे आये थे वैसे ही चले गये; और अर्जुनक तथा गौतमी ब्राह्मणीका भी शोक दूर हो गया ।। एतत् श्र॒ुत्वा शमं गच्छ मा भू: शोकपरो नृप । स्वकर्मप्रत्ययॉल्लोकान् सर्वे गच्छन्ति वै नूप
bhīṣma uvāca—rājan! tad-anantaraṁ kāla-mṛtyu-sarpa-yathāgatāḥ tathāiva gatāḥ; arjunakasya gautamyā brāhmaṇyāś ca śoko ’pi vyapagataḥ. etat śrutvā śamaṁ gaccha mā bhūḥ śoka-paraḥ nṛpa; sva-karma-pratyayāl lokān sarve gacchanti vai nṛpa.
Bhīṣma berkata: “Wahai Raja! Sesudah itu Kala (Waktu), Maut dan Ular itu pun pergi sebagaimana mereka datang; dan dukacita Arjunaka serta wanita brahmana Gautamī turut lenyap. Setelah mendengar hal ini, kembalilah tenang—jangan tenggelam dalam kesedihan, wahai pemerintah. Semua makhluk, terikat pada akibat perbuatan mereka sendiri, sesungguhnya pergi ke alam yang ditakdirkan bagi mereka.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches the king to abandon excessive grief by recognizing karmic causality: beings attain their respective destinies according to their own actions, and even powerful forces like Time and Death act and withdraw in due course.
After the encounter involving personified Time, Death, and a Serpent, they depart as they arrived; the sorrow of Arjunaka and the brahmin woman Gautami is relieved, and Bhishma uses this outcome to counsel the king toward calm acceptance.