Shloka 17
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
क्व नु तेडद्य पिता राजन् क्व नु तेड्द्य पितामह: । न त्वं पश्यसि तानद्य न त्वां पश्यन्ति तेडपि च
kva nu te ’dya pitā rājan kva nu te ’dya pitāmahaḥ | na tvaṃ paśyasi tān adya na tvāṃ paśyanti te ’pi ca, rājan ||
क्व नु तेऽद्य पिता राजन् क्व नु तेऽद्य पितामहः । न त्वं पश्यसि तानद्य न त्वां पश्यन्ति तेऽपि च ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights impermanence: even one’s father and grandfather are gone and cannot be seen. Remembering this fragility of life is meant to curb pride and attachment, and to ground the king in dharma—acting rightly without clinging to transient relations and power.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma addresses a king directly, using rhetorical questions about the whereabouts of the king’s father and grandfather. The point is to awaken reflective awareness that death and separation are unavoidable, thereby preparing the listener to receive ethical counsel.