Shloka 35
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
कालेनाहं त्वामजयं कालेनाहं जितस्त्वया । गन्ता गतिमतां काल: काल: कलयति प्रजा:,कालकी सहायता पाकर मैंने तुमपर विजय पायी थी और कालके ही सहयोगसे अब तुमने मुझे पराजित कर दिया है। काल ही जानेवाले प्राणियोंके साथ जाता या उन्हें गमनकी शक्ति प्रदान करता है और वही समस्त प्रजाका संहार करता है
kālenāhaṃ tvām ajayaṃ kālenāhaṃ jitas tvayā | gantā gatimatāṃ kālaḥ kālaḥ kalayati prajāḥ ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Com o Tempo (Kāla) como meu aliado, outrora eu te venci; e com esse mesmo Tempo como teu aliado, agora tu me venceste. O Tempo acompanha todos os seres que se movem—na verdade, concede-lhes o próprio poder de ir—e, por fim, o Tempo conduz todas as criaturas à dissolução.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Victory and defeat are not absolute personal achievements; they unfold under the larger sovereignty of Kāla (Time). Time empowers beings to act and also limits them, ultimately bringing all lives to their appointed end—so one should cultivate humility, detachment, and dharmic steadiness amid changing fortunes.
Bhīṣma reflects on reversal of fortune: he once defeated his opponent when Time favored him, but later he himself is defeated when Time turns. He frames the outcome of conflict within the cosmic principle of Kāla, emphasizing that Time accompanies all moving beings and finally destroys all creatures.