Shloka 70

ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana

River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor

Devanagari script

यत्‌ तद्‌ वर्षसहस्रान्तं पूर्ण भवितुमरहति

Transliteration

yat tad varṣasahasrāntaṃ pūrṇaṃ bhavitum arhati

Translation

ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—“ਜੋ ਕੁਝ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਵਰ੍ਹਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਅੰਤ ਤੇ ਹੀ ਪੂਰਾ ਹੋਣ ਲਈ ਯੋਗ ਹੈ, ਉਹ ਤਦ ਹੀ ਪੂਰਨ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ।”

Word by Word

• यत्: which/that (thing)
• यत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• तत्: that (same thing)
• तत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• वर्षसहस्रान्तम्: the end of a thousand years / a thousand-year limit
• वर्षसहस्रान्तम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्षसहस्रान्त
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• पूर्णम्: complete, fulfilled
• पूर्णम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• भवितुम्: to become, to be
• भवितुम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: तुमुन्, Parasmaipada (usage-neutral in infinitive), Infinitive (purpose/complement)

• अर्हति: is fit/deserves/ought
• अर्हति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma emphasizes the ethical insight that outcomes ripen according to their proper time: what is meant to mature only after a long span should not be forced prematurely; one should act rightly and wait for due fruition.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma continues a reflective teaching about the maturation of results over time, using the idea of a ‘thousand-year completion’ to stress delayed but rightful fulfillment.