Shloka 32
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
कालसे पीड़ित हुए मनुष्यको न विद्या, न तप, न दान, न मित्र और न बन्धु-बान्धव ही कष्टसे बचा पाते हैं ।।
Bhīṣma uvāca: kālena pīḍitān manuṣyān na vidyā na tapaḥ na dānaṃ na mitraṃ na bandhavo bāndhavāś ca duḥkhāt trātuṃ śaknuvanti. nāgāminam anarthaṃ hi pratighātaśatair api; śaknuvanti pratīvoḍhum ṛte buddhi-balān narāḥ.
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Kapag ang tao’y pinahihirapan ng Panahon, ni karunungan, ni pagpapakasakit, ni pagkakawanggawa, ni kaibigan, ni kamag-anak ay hindi makapagliligtas sa kanya sa pagdurusa. Sapagkat ang nalalapit na kapahamakan ay hindi napipigil kahit sa daan-daang pagtutol; mapapawi lamang ito sa lakas ng pag-unawa at talino.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
When Time (kāla) bears down, external supports—learning, austerity, charity, friends, and relatives—may fail; the reliable means to avert harm is buddhi-bala, the strength of clear discernment and intelligent action.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he emphasizes to the listener that mere force or repeated counterattacks cannot stop an approaching disaster; only wise judgment and timely, intelligent measures can meaningfully resist it.