Shloka 16
उशनसः (शुक्रस्य) चरितम् — The Account of Uśanā (Śukra): Yoga, Grievance, and Pacification
वृत्र बवाच सत्येन तपसा चैव विदित्वासंशयं हाहम् । न शोचामि न हृष्यामि भूतानामागतिं गतिम्
Vṛtra uvāca: satyena tapasā caiva viditvā saṁśayaṁ hāham | na śocāmi na hṛṣyāmi bhūtānām āgatiṁ gatiṁ ||
Wika ni Vṛtra: “O Brāhmaṇa, sa pamamagitan ng katotohanan at tapas (mahigpit na pagdidisiplina/ascetic na pagsasanay), nalaman ko—nang walang alinlangan—ang lihim na batas ng pagdating at pag-alis ng mga nilalang (ang paulit-ulit na pagsilang at pagpanaw). Kaya tungkol sa kanilang landas at kapalaran, hindi ako nagdadalamhati ni nagbubunyi.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True insight into the law of beings’ coming and going (the cycle of embodied existence shaped by karma) leads to equanimity: one should not be tossed between grief and elation. Satya (truthfulness) and tapas (disciplined austerity) are presented as means that mature into such steady knowledge.
Within Bhīṣma’s discourse, a teaching is conveyed through the voice of Vṛtra, who addresses a Brāhmaṇa and declares that he has understood, beyond doubt, the mystery of living beings’ movements in existence; as a result, he remains emotionally even—neither mourning nor celebrating their destinies.