Shloka 35
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
कालेनाहं त्वामजयं कालेनाहं जितस्त्वया । गन्ता गतिमतां काल: काल: कलयति प्रजा:
kālenāhaṃ tvām ajayaṃ kālenāhaṃ jitas tvayā | gantā gatimatāṃ kālaḥ kālaḥ kalayati prajāḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Sa tulong ng Panahon (Kāla) bilang kakampi, minsan ay nanaig ako sa iyo; at sa tulong ng kaparehong Panahon bilang kakampi mo, ngayo’y nanaig ka sa akin. Ang Panahon ay sumasabay sa lahat ng nilalang na gumagalaw—sa katunayan, ito ang nagbibigay sa kanila ng lakas upang makapaglakbay—at sa huli, ang Panahon ang nagdadala sa lahat ng nilalang sa pagkalusaw.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Victory and defeat are not absolute personal achievements; they unfold under the larger sovereignty of Kāla (Time). Time empowers beings to act and also limits them, ultimately bringing all lives to their appointed end—so one should cultivate humility, detachment, and dharmic steadiness amid changing fortunes.
Bhīṣma reflects on reversal of fortune: he once defeated his opponent when Time favored him, but later he himself is defeated when Time turns. He frames the outcome of conflict within the cosmic principle of Kāla, emphasizing that Time accompanies all moving beings and finally destroys all creatures.