Shloka 20
प्रजाविसर्ग-तत्त्वनिर्णयः | Cosmogony of Elemental Emergence
Bharadvāja–Bhṛgu Dialogue
जबतक मनुष्य भोगोंसे तृप्त नहीं होता, संग्रह ही करता रहता है, तभीतक ही उसे मौत आकर ले जाती है। ठीक वैसे ही, जैसे व्याप्र किसी पशुको ले जाता है ।।
yāvat manuṣyo bhogaiḥ na tṛpyati saṅgraham eva karoti; tāvat eva taṃ mṛtyur āgatya nayati—yathā vyāghraḥ paśum ādāya nayet. idaṃ kṛtam idaṃ kāryam idam anyat kṛtākṛtam; evam īhā-sukhāsaktaṃ kṛtāntaḥ kurute vaśe.
Wika ni Bhishma: Hangga’t ang tao’y hindi pa nasisiyahan sa mga kalayawan, patuloy lamang siyang nag-iipon; at habang abala pa siya roon, dumarating ang Kamatayan at dinadala siya—gaya ng tigre na kumakarga ng isang hayop. Iniisip niya, “Ito’y nagawa na; ito’y dapat pang gawin; ito nama’y kalahating nagawa at kalahating hindi,” at sa pagkakapit sa ligayang bunga ng walang humpay na pagpupunyagi, ang tao’y napapasailalim sa kapangyarihan ng Panahon (Kamatayan).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Insatiable craving for pleasures leads to endless accumulation and restless striving; while one remains absorbed in unfinished plans, Death/Time seizes one unexpectedly. The verse urges contentment and detachment, recognizing the inevitability of mortality.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on right living, Bhishma warns Yudhishthira about the human tendency to remain engrossed in worldly projects—counting what is done and what remains—until Death (Kṛtānta) overpowers them, illustrated by the image of a tiger carrying off its prey.