Shloka 25
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
मा च ते5भूत् स्वभावो5यमिति ते देवपुड्भव । ईश्वर: सर्वभूतानां विक्रमेण जितो बलातू
mā ca te 'bhūt svabhāvo 'yam iti te devapuṅgava | īśvaraḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ vikrameṇa jito balāt ||
毗湿摩说道：“诸天之最尊者啊，切莫生起这般心念——不要以为：‘凭我自身的力量与勇武，我已征服了万有之主。’一切众生的至上主宰，并非仅以武力与功业便能真正战胜。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and heroism should not breed arrogance: the Lord who governs all beings is not genuinely ‘conquered’ by brute strength. The verse warns a divine ruler to remain humble and to recognize a higher sovereignty beyond personal prowess.
Bhishma addresses a ‘foremost of the gods’ (devapuṅgava, typically Indra) and cautions him against the thought that he has subdued the supreme Lord merely through his own might. It is a moral-theological correction aimed at restraining pride after apparent victory.