Shloka 8
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
इह पुंसां सहस््राणि स्त्रीसहस्नाणि चैव ह | समानीतानि कालेन हित्वा वै यान्ति बान्धवा:
iha puṁsāṁ sahasrāṇi strī-sahasrāṇi caiva ha | samānītāni kālena hitvā vai yānti bāndhavāḥ ||
Sinabi ni Bhishma: “Sa daigdig na ito mismo, libu-libong lalaki at libu-libong babae ang tunay na tinipon ng Panahon (Kamatayan). Pagkaraan, iniiwan sila ng mga kamag-anak at umaalis. Ganyan ang takbo ng buhay na may hangganan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the inevitability of death and separation: Time (Kāla) brings countless beings to their end, and even close relatives must eventually leave. The ethical thrust is to cultivate steadiness and discernment in the face of grief, recognizing impermanence as a universal law.
Within Bhishma’s instruction in the Shanti Parva, this line functions as a consolatory reflection: it generalizes a scene of loss by stating that innumerable men and women have been taken by Time, and their kin inevitably depart after leaving them—highlighting the common human condition of bereavement.