Shloka 13
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
अ्हस्त्वमसि कल्याण वार्ष्णेयं शृणु यत्परम् । कालचक्रमनाद्यन्तं भावाभावस्वलक्षणम्
ahastvam asi kalyāṇa vārṣṇeyaṁ śṛṇu yat param | kālacakram anādyantaṁ bhāvābhāva-svalakṣaṇam ||
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai yang membawa keberkatan, wahai Vārṣṇeya, engkau bukanlah insan yang tidak berdaya. Dengarlah kini ajaran tertinggi: roda Masa—tanpa awal dan tanpa akhir—yang tanda hakikinya ialah timbul dan lenyapnya segala keadaan, yang ada dan yang tiada.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma points to the supreme perspective that Time is an endless cycle governing manifestation and dissolution—bhāva and abhāva. Recognizing this helps one cultivate steadiness and detachment, seeing change as the defining feature of worldly conditions rather than a personal defeat.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma addresses Vārṣṇeya (Kṛṣṇa) and urges him to listen to a higher doctrine. He frames the discussion around the kālacakra—Time’s wheel—introducing a metaphysical explanation for the rise and fall of conditions.