Shloka 63
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
ज्वलन्तः प्रतपन्तश्ष॒ कालेन प्रतिसंहता: । त्वं चैवेमां यदा भुक््त्वा पृथिवीं त्यक्षसे पुन:
jvalantaḥ pratapantaś ca kālena pratisaṃhatāḥ | tvaṃ caivemāṃ yadā bhuktvā pṛthivīṃ tyakṣase punaḥ ||
Rực cháy và thiêu đốt, muôn loài theo thời gian đều bị thu về trong sự tan rã. Còn ngươi nữa—khi đã hưởng thụ và cai trị cõi đất này—rồi cũng sẽ lại rời bỏ nó.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes the sovereignty of Kāla (Time): all that blazes with power and prosperity is eventually gathered back into dissolution. Therefore, even a ruler who ‘enjoys’ the earth must remember that possession is temporary and should cultivate detachment and dharmic restraint.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction to the king, Bhīṣma continues a reflective teaching on the fate of power and worldly dominion. He reminds the listener that time inevitably ends all conditions, and that kingship over the earth is not permanent—one will inevitably have to relinquish it.