Shloka 7

Devanagari script

फल कर्मात्मकं विद्यात्‌ कर्म ज्ञेयात्मकं तथा । ज्ञेयं ज्ञानात्मकं विद्याज्ज्ञानं सदसदात्मकम्‌,इस प्रकार फलको कर्मस्वरूप समझे। कर्मको जाननेमें आनेवाले पदार्थोंका रूप समझे और ज्ञेयको ज्ञानरूप समझे तथा ज्ञानका स्वरूप कार्य और कारण जाने

Transliteration

phalaṁ karmātmakaṁ vidyāt karma jñeyātmakaṁ tathā | jñeyaṁ jñānātmakaṁ vidyāj jñānaṁ sad-asad-ātmakam ||

Translation

ভীষ্মে ক’লে—ফলক কৰ্মস্বৰূপ বুলি জানিবা; কৰ্মক জ্ঞেয়—জানিবলগীয়া বিষয়সমূহৰ—স্বৰূপ বুলি বুজিবা; আৰু জ্ঞেয়ক জ্ঞানস্বৰূপ বুলি জানিবা। জ্ঞান সৎ-অসৎ—কাৰ্য-কাৰণ, প্ৰকাশ-অপ্ৰকাশ—উভয়ৰ সৈতে যুক্ত দ্বিবিধ স্বভাৱৰ।

Word by Word

फलम्fruit/result

कर्मात्मकम्having the nature of action

विद्यात्should know

कर्मaction

ज्ञेयात्मकम्having the nature of the knowable

तथाlikewise/so

ज्ञेयम्the knowable (object of knowledge)

ज्ञानात्मकम्having the nature of knowledge

विद्यात्should know

ज्ञानम्knowledge

सत्-असत्-आत्मकम्having the nature of being and non-being (real and unreal)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents a chain of dependence: results are rooted in actions; actions operate within the domain of the knowable (objects/fields that can be apprehended); the knowable is grounded in knowledge; and knowledge relates to both sat and asat (often read as cause and effect, or manifest and unmanifest). Ethically, it implies that transforming one’s outcomes requires refining action, and refining action requires right understanding.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and higher wisdom after the war. Here he shifts into a philosophical analysis, explaining how action, its fruits, and the structure of knowing interrelate, guiding the listener toward discernment and responsible conduct.