Shloka 646
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
एवं स्वराज्यनाशे त्वं शोक॑ सम्प्रसहिष्यसि । तुम काम-भोगकी इच्छाको छोड़ो और राजलक्ष्मीके इस मदको त्याग दो। इस दशामें यदि तुम्हारे राज्यका नाश हो जाय तो तुम उस शोकको सह सकोगे
evaṁ svarājya-nāśe tvaṁ śokaṁ samprasahiṣyasi |
Bhīṣma berkata: “Dengan demikian, jika kedaulatanmu sendiri musnah, engkau akan mampu menanggung dukacita itu. Maka tinggalkanlah keinginan terhadap kenikmatan indera, dan lepaskanlah mabuk yang datang daripada Sri Rajya (tuah kerajaan); dalam keadaan demikian, sekalipun kerajaanmu binasa, engkau akan sanggup memikul kesedihan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that resilience in calamity comes from inner renunciation: give up craving for sense-pleasures and the pride/intoxication of royal prosperity, so that even the loss of sovereignty can be borne without being shattered.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing the listener on righteous conduct and the mindset of a ruler. Here he warns against attachment to enjoyment and the arrogance of power, framing them as causes of unbearable grief when fortune reverses.