Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 26
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
नैतदस्मत्कृतं शक्र नैतच्छक्र कृतं त्वया । यत् त्वमेवंगतो वज़्िन् यद्धाप्येवंगता वयम्
naitad asmatkṛtaṃ śakra naitac chakra kṛtaṃ tvayā | yat tvam evaṃgato vajrin yad dhāpy evaṃgatā vayam ||
毗湿摩说道：“释迦（因陀罗）啊，此事非我等所为，亦非汝所为。执金刚者啊，汝得王者荣华，我等陷于困厄凄苦——这一切并非你我各自之力所造。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes that worldly rise and fall—royal prosperity or miserable decline—should not be attributed solely to personal credit or blame. The verse points to forces beyond individual ego (karma, time, destiny), encouraging humility in success and steadiness in adversity.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhīṣma addresses Indra (Śakra/Vajrin) and comments on contrasting conditions: Indra’s exalted splendor versus the speaker’s (and his side’s) fallen state. He frames both conditions as not merely self-caused, preparing the ground for ethical reflection on causality, responsibility, and equanimity.