Shloka 20
मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169
यथाशक्ति समाचारा: सम्प्रतुष्यन्ति हि प्रभो । नास्थाने क्रोधवन्तश्न न चाकस्माद् विरागिण: । विरक्ताश्न न दुष्यन्ति मनसाप्यर्थकोविदा:
yathāśakti samācārāḥ sampratuṣyanti hi prabho | nāsthāne krodhavantaś ca na cākasmād virāgiṇaḥ | viraktāś ca na duṣyanti manasāpy arthakovidāḥ ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “O panginoon, nagiging panatag ang tao kapag isinasabuhay ang wastong asal ayon sa sariling kakayahan. Ang marurunong ay hindi nagagalit nang walang dahilan, ni biglang nagiging manhid at walang malasakit. Ang mga may paglayo sa pagkapit at may malinaw na pag-unawa sa kapakinabangan ay hindi nahuhulog sa kamalian—kahit sa isip man lamang.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Right conduct should be practiced in proportion to one’s capacity; true wisdom shows itself as restraint—no misplaced anger, no sudden fickle dispassion—and genuine detachment keeps even the mind from moral taint.
In the Shanti Parva instruction, Bhishma continues advising the king on ethical governance and personal discipline, emphasizing measured practice, emotional regulation, and the inner (mental) dimension of righteousness.