Shloka 18
Śaraṇāgatapālana—Prastāvanā
Protection of the Refuge-Seeker: Opening of the Kapota Narrative
वहेदमित्र स्कन्धेन यावत्कालस्य पर्यय: । प्राप्तकालं तु विज्ञाय भिन्द्याद् घटमिवाश्मनि
vahed amitraṃ skandhena yāvat kālasya paryayaḥ | prāptakālaṃ tu vijñāya bhindyād ghaṭam ivāśmani ||
毗湿摩说：“只要时运尚未转向于你，若谨慎所需，纵使把敌人扛在肩上背负前行，也当忍受。然一旦良机到来而你已识其时，便当决然击碎之——如陶罐掷于磐石，顷刻粉裂。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches strategic patience governed by kāla (time/circumstance): endure and even outwardly accommodate an enemy when conditions are unfavorable, but when the decisive moment arrives, act firmly and conclusively. The ethical frame is rājadharma—protecting one’s aims and realm through prudent timing rather than impulsive confrontation.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and conduct, Bhishma offers a vivid political-ethical maxim. He uses the metaphor of carrying an enemy on one’s shoulder during adverse times, then shattering him like a pot on stone when favorable conditions return—illustrating how a ruler should calibrate action to changing circumstances.