Shloka 73
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
कालके उलट-फेरसे ही इस विचित्र जीवलोकमें तुम सबके आराध्य बन गये हो। भला बताओ तो तुम कौन-सा शुभ कर्म करके आज इन्द्र हो गये और हम कौन-सा अशुभ कर्म करके इन्द्रपदसे नीचे गिर गये ।।
kālaḥ kartā vikartā ca sarvam anyad akāraṇam | nāśaṁ vināśam aiśvaryaṁ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ bhavābhavau ||
毗湿摩说道：“时间本身既是成就者，也是毁坏者；除此之外，一切都没有真正独立的因。正是时间带来败亡与毁灭、王权与昌盛、欢乐与忧苦，以及众生的兴起与沉落。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that Kāla (Time) is the decisive power behind creation, change, prosperity, and ruin; therefore one should not become arrogant in success or despair in failure, but act with steadiness and humility within dharma.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction setting, Bhishma explains to the listener that reversals of status—rise to sovereignty and fall from it—are governed by Time’s turning, framing human fortune within a larger cosmic order rather than mere personal merit or blame.