Shloka 1023
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
अहमासं पुरा चेति मनसापि न बुद्धयते । “अवश्य ही तुम्हारी बुद्धि तत््वको जाननेवाली तथा स्थिर है, इसीलिये उसे व्यथा नहीं होती। मैं पहले अत्यन्त ऐश्वर्यशशाली था, इस बातको तुम मनसे भी स्मरण नहीं करते
aham āsaṃ purā ceti manasāpi na budhyate |
Disse Bhīṣma: “Tu nem sequer recordas na mente: ‘Eu outrora fui assim (grande), em tempos passados.’ Porque teu intelecto é firme e capaz de conhecer o princípio verdadeiro (tattva), não é abalado pela dor. Não te consomes pela prosperidade de antes; por isso permaneces sem perturbação.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises equanimity born of stable discernment: one who knows reality (tattva) does not cling to memories of former greatness or wealth, and thus avoids distress. Freedom from mental fixation on past prosperity is presented as a mark of steady wisdom.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing the listener on inner steadiness. He points out that the person addressed does not even mentally dwell on the thought, “I was once prosperous,” and he links this absence of brooding to a firm, truth-knowing intellect that remains unshaken by suffering.