Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 13
अध्रुवो हि कथं लोक: स्मृतो धर्म: कथं ध्रुव: । यत्र कालो ध्रुवस्तात तत्र धर्म: सनातन:
adhruvo hi kathaṁ lokaḥ smṛto dharmaḥ kathaṁ dhruvaḥ | yatra kālo dhruvas tāta tatra dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “Kung ang mga daigdig ay inaalaalang di-mananatili, paano tatawaging permanente ang dharma? Ngunit, anak, kung saan ang Kāla (Panahon) mismo ang tiyak at di-nabibigo na katotohanan, doon ang dharma ay walang hanggan.” Sa layuning etikal, itinuturo ni Bhīṣma na ang mga bungang hinahangad sa panandaliang mga kaharian ay maaaring maglaho; subalit ang dharma—nakaugat sa di-nalilihis na kaayusan ng Panahon at ng realidad—ay nananatiling di-nagbabago. Kapag isinagawa nang walang pagkapit sa nabubulok na gantimpala, inaakay nito lampas sa di-matatag tungo sa tunay na nagtatagal.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma distinguishes between impermanent destinations (lokas) and the permanence of dharma: worldly or heavenly results can be transient, but dharma as the sustaining moral-cosmic order is constant, rooted in the unfailing principle of Time. Practiced without attachment to perishable rewards, dharma aligns one with what is truly enduring.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma answers a doubt (implicitly from Yudhiṣṭhira) about how dharma can be called eternal if it seems to yield impermanent fruits like heaven. He responds by grounding dharma’s eternality in the deeper order governed by Kāla (Time), implying that the intention and orientation of practice determine whether one attains transient or enduring ends.