Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, 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 ||
毗湿摩说道：“若诸世界皆被忆念为无常，法（dharma）又怎能称为常住？然而，孩子啊，在时间（迦罗 Kāla）自身成为确定不移、毫不差失的真实之处，法便是永恒的。”从伦理旨趣上，毗湿摩指出：在短暂境界中所求的果报终会消散；而法——立基于时间与真实那不谬的秩序——恒常不变。若行法而不执著于可坏的回报，便能越过动荡无常，趋向真正长存者。
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.