Shloka 25
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
मा च ते5भूत् स्वभावो5यमिति ते देवपुड्भव । ईश्वर: सर्वभूतानां विक्रमेण जितो बलातू
mā ca te 'bhūt svabhāvo 'yam iti te devapuṅgava | īśvaraḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ vikrameṇa jito balāt ||
ਹੇ ਦੇਵਾਂ ਦੇ ਸ਼੍ਰੇਸ਼ਠ! ਤੇਰੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਇਹ ਸੁਭਾਉ ਨਾ ਉੱਠੇ ਕਿ—‘ਮੈਂ ਆਪਣੇ ਬਲ ਅਤੇ ਪਰਾਕ੍ਰਮ ਨਾਲ ਸਭ ਜੀਵਾਂ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਨੂੰ ਜਿੱਤ ਲਿਆ ਹੈ।’
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and heroism should not breed arrogance: the Lord who governs all beings is not genuinely ‘conquered’ by brute strength. The verse warns a divine ruler to remain humble and to recognize a higher sovereignty beyond personal prowess.
Bhishma addresses a ‘foremost of the gods’ (devapuṅgava, typically Indra) and cautions him against the thought that he has subdued the supreme Lord merely through his own might. It is a moral-theological correction aimed at restraining pride after apparent victory.