Shloka 26

Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession

Devanagari script

तस्यैव द्वियमाणस्य स्रोतसेव तपोधन । फलमेतत्‌ प्रपश्यामि यथालब्धेन वर्तयन्‌

Transliteration

tasyaiva dvīyamānasya srotaseva tapodhana | phalam etat prapaśyāmi yathālabdhena vartayan ||

Translation

భీష్ముడు అన్నాడు—ఓ తపోధనా! ప్రవాహం వస్తువులను కొట్టుకుపోయినట్లు, కాలవేగం నా రాజ్యాన్ని అపహరించింది. దాని ఫలితాన్ని నేను స్పష్టంగా చూస్తున్నాను—ఆ నష్టమే నాకు శోకాన్ని కలిగిస్తోంది; దొరికినదానితోనే నేను జీవనాన్ని సాగిస్తున్నాను.

Word by Word

• तस्य: of that (of him/it)
• तस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• द्वियमाणस्य: of (it) being carried/borne along
• द्वियमाणस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: द्वि (धातु) + यमाण (शानच्)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular, शानच् (present passive/ātmanepada participle sense)

• स्रोतसा: by the stream/current
• स्रोतसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्रोतस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• इव: as/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• तपोधन: O ascetic (one whose wealth is austerity)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपोधन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• फलम्: result/fruit
• फलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• प्रपश्यामि: I clearly see/realize
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √पश्
• Form: Present, 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• यथा: as/according as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• अलब्धेन: with what is obtained (lit. by the obtained)
• अलब्धेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + लब्ध (√लभ् + क्त)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• वर्तयन्: maintaining (myself), living on
• वर्तयन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वृत् (वर्तते/वर्तयति) + शतृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, शतृ (present active participle)

• तपोधन: O ascetic
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपोधन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Time (Kāla)
• kingdom (rājya)
• stream/current (srotas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches acceptance of the overpowering force of Time and the ethical discipline of contentment: when worldly power is lost, one should recognize the result as a consequence unfolding in time and live steadily on whatever is rightly obtained (yathālabdhena), without grasping or despair.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma, speaking in the Shanti Parva, reflects on the loss of sovereignty: he compares it to an object swept away by a river’s current, attributing the loss to the irresistible momentum of Kāla (Time). He describes the sorrow that follows and his present condition of subsisting on whatever he can obtain.