Shloka 13
अध्रुवो हि कथं लोक: स्मृतो धर्म: कथं ध्रुव: । यत्र कालो ध्रुवस्तात तत्र धर्म: सनातन:
adhruvo hi kathaṁ lokaḥ smṛto dharmaḥ kathaṁ dhruvaḥ | yatra kālo dhruvas tāta tatra dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ ||
اگر عوالم ناپائیدار سمجھے گئے ہیں تو دھرم کو دائمی کیسے کہا جائے؟ مگر اے عزیز! جہاں زمانہ خود ثابت و اٹل حقیقت ہے، وہاں دھرم ازلی و ابدی ہے۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma distinguishes between impermanent destinations (lokas) and the permanence of dharma: worldly or heavenly results can be transient, but dharma as the sustaining moral-cosmic order is constant, rooted in the unfailing principle of Time. Practiced without attachment to perishable rewards, dharma aligns one with what is truly enduring.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma answers a doubt (implicitly from Yudhiṣṭhira) about how dharma can be called eternal if it seems to yield impermanent fruits like heaven. He responds by grounding dharma’s eternality in the deeper order governed by Kāla (Time), implying that the intention and orientation of practice determine whether one attains transient or enduring ends.