Mahabharata 12.26.19

12.26.19

ātmāpi cāyaṃ na mama sarvāpi pṛthivī mama |
yathā mama tathānyeṣāmiti paśyanna muhyati || 19 ||

If the Time does not come, one does not acquire youth. It is with Time that the seed sown puts forth its sprouts. If the Time does not come, the Sun does not appear above the horizon, nor, when the Time for it does not come, does he repair to the Asta hills. If the Time for it does not come, the Moon does not wax nor wane, nor the ocean, with its high billows, rise and ebb. In this connection is instanced the old story recited, O Yudhishthira, by king Senajit in grief. The irresistible course of Time affects all mortals. All earthly things, ripened by Time, suffer destruction. Some, O king, slay some men. The slayers, again, are slain by others. This is the language of the world. Really, however, no one stays and no one is slain. Some one thinks men slay (their fellow-men). Another thinks men do not slay. The truth is that the birth and destruction of all creatures have been ordained to happen in consequence of their very nature. Upon the loss of one's wealth or the death of one's wife or son or sire, one cries out, saying 'Alas, what grief!' and dwelling upon that sorrow always enhances it. Why do you, like a foolish person, indulge in grief? Why do you grieve for them that are subject to grief? Behold, grief is increased by indulgence as fear is by yielding to. This body even is not mine. Nothing in this earth is mine. Or, the things of this earth belong as much to others as to me. The wise, seeing, this, do not suffer themselves to be deluded.