Shloka 33
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
पययिह॒न्यमानानां परित्राता न विद्यते | इदं तु दु:ःखं यच्छक्र कर्ताहमिति मन्यसे
pīḍyamānānāṃ paritrātā na vidyate | idaṃ tu duḥkhaṃ yac chakra kartāham iti manyase ||
毗湿摩说道：“凡被时劫（迦罗，Kāla）所逼迫者，终究寻不到护佑之人。真正的悲哀在于此：噢，释迦罗（因陀罗），你竟以为‘我是此境之作者（成因）’。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma points to the overpowering force of Kāla (Time): when beings are afflicted by it, no external protector can truly intervene. The deeper cause of suffering, however, is the delusion of personal doership—thinking “I am the one who caused this,” which binds the mind to grief and ego-based responsibility beyond one’s actual control.
In Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse, Bhīṣma addresses Śakra (Indra) and reframes a situation of distress: rather than seeing events as solely produced by an individual agent, he emphasizes the role of Time and warns that the belief “I am the doer” itself becomes a source of pain.