Shloka 63
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
ज्वलन्तः प्रतपन्तश्ष॒ कालेन प्रतिसंहता: । त्वं चैवेमां यदा भुक््त्वा पृथिवीं त्यक्षसे पुन:
jvalantaḥ pratapantaś ca kālena pratisaṃhatāḥ | tvaṃ caivemāṃ yadā bhuktvā pṛthivīṃ tyakṣase punaḥ ||
炽燃而灼热，众生终将随时光被收摄，归于寂灭。你亦如此——当你享受并统御此大地之后——终将再度舍离它。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes the sovereignty of Kāla (Time): all that blazes with power and prosperity is eventually gathered back into dissolution. Therefore, even a ruler who ‘enjoys’ the earth must remember that possession is temporary and should cultivate detachment and dharmic restraint.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction to the king, Bhīṣma continues a reflective teaching on the fate of power and worldly dominion. He reminds the listener that time inevitably ends all conditions, and that kingship over the earth is not permanent—one will inevitably have to relinquish it.