Shloka 89
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
सवज़मुद्यतं बाहुं दृष्टवा पाशांश्व वारुणान्
savajram udyataṃ bāhuṃ dṛṣṭvā pāśāṃś ca vāruṇān | daityarāja! mama bāhuṃ vajra-varuṇapāśa-sahitam ūrdhvaṃ kṛtvā hantum icchayāgatāyā mṛtyor api hṛdayaṃ kampate; punaḥ kaḥ sa anyaḥ yasya buddhir na vyathate | tava buddhis tattva-jñāna-yuktā sthirā ca; tasmāt sā kṣaṇam api na vicalati ||
Бхишма сказал: «О царь дайтьев! Когда сама Смерть приходит с намерением убить, и она содрогается, увидев мою руку, поднятую вверх с ваджрой и арканами Варуны. Кто же тогда не был бы смущён умом? Но твоё разумение стойко и зрит истину; потому оно не колеблется ни на миг».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True steadiness comes from tattva-jñāna—clear knowledge of reality. External threats that shake ordinary minds need not disturb one whose intellect is disciplined and rooted in truth.
Bhishma addresses a Daitya-king, describing the terrifying power of his raised arm armed with vajra and Varuṇa’s nooses—so formidable that even personified Death would tremble—then praises the Daitya-king for remaining unshaken due to his stable, truth-knowing intellect.