Shloka 8436
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
सो<यं पचति कालो मां वृक्षे फलमिवागतम् । नमैं कर्ता हूँ, न तुम कर्ता हो। जो वास्तवमें सदा कर्ता है, वह सर्वसमर्थ काल वृक्षपर लगे हुए फलके समान मुझे पका रहा है
so ’yaṃ pacati kālo māṃ vṛkṣe phalam ivāgatam | na me kartā ’haṃ, na tvaṃ kartā | yo hi tattvataḥ sadā kartā sa sarvasamarthaḥ kālaḥ vṛkṣastha-phala-vat mām pacayati ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Ang makapangyarihang Panahon na ito ang nagpapahinog sa akin, gaya ng bungang nahihinog sa puno kapag dumarating ang panahon nito. Hindi ako ang gumagawa, at hindi rin ikaw ang gumagawa. Sa katotohanan, ang laging tunay na tagapagkilos ay ang Panahon mismo—ganap na may kakayahan—na dinadala ang aking buhay sa itinakdang paghinog, gaya ng bunga sa sanga.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches humility and detachment regarding agency: individuals should not cling to the idea “I am the doer.” Ultimately, the decisive force that brings events to fruition—especially life’s decline and death—is Kāla (Time). Recognizing this reduces pride, blame, and grief, and supports steadiness in dharma.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs the listener (traditionally Yudhishthira) on dharma and wisdom after the war. Here he reflects on his own condition and approaching end, explaining it through the metaphor of a fruit ripening on a tree: his fate is being completed by Time, not by personal will or another’s agency.