Shloka 120

आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः

Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca

Devanagari script

कार्यार्थे कृतसंधानौ दृष्टवा मार्जारमूषिकौ

Transliteration

kāryārthe kṛtasandhānau dṛṣṭvā mārjāramūṣikau

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Als ich eine Katze und eine Maus sah, die zum Zweck der Vollendung einer bestimmten Aufgabe ein Einvernehmen geschlossen hatten, wies ich auf ihr zweckmäßiges Bündnis hin: Selbst natürliche Feinde können sich vorübergehend vereinen, wenn ein gemeinsames Ziel sie drängt; doch solche Verbindungen verlangen Vorsicht und klares Urteilsvermögen im Handeln.“

Word by Word

• कार्यार्थे: for the sake of a task / in the matter of an objective
• कार्यार्थे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्यार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• कृतसंधानौ: having made an alliance / having formed a pact
• कृतसंधानौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतसंधान
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund)

• मार्जारमूषिकौ: the cat and the mouse
• मार्जारमूषिकौ: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्जारमूषिक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Dual

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• cat (mārjāra)
• mouse (mūṣika)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even hostile parties may enter a temporary alliance to achieve a shared goal; dharma requires discernment—understanding motive, limits of trust, and the risks of convenience-based friendship.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma introduces an illustrative scene: a cat and a mouse are observed to have made a pact for a specific purpose, setting up a moral reflection on strategic cooperation and the dangers of alliances between natural adversaries.