Shloka 41

Devanagari script

यत्‌ करोति शुभं कर्म तथा कर्म सुदारुणम्‌ । तत्‌ कर्तैव समश्नाति बान्धवानां किमत्र ह,प्राणी जो शुभ या अशुभ कर्म करता है, उसका फल भी करनेवाला ही भोगता है। इसमें भाई-बन्धुओंका क्‍या है?

Transliteration

yat karoti śubhaṃ karma tathā karma sudāruṇam | tat kartaiva samaśnāti bāndhavānāṃ kim atra ha ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: Welche heilsame Tat ein Mensch auch vollbringt und ebenso welche furchtbar schädliche Tat — der Täter allein verzehrt ihre Frucht. Welche Rolle haben Verwandte hierbei?

Word by Word

यत्whatever (that which)

करोतिdoes

शुभम्good, auspicious

कर्मdeed, action

तथाand likewise, also

कर्मdeed, action

सुदारुणम्very dreadful, very harsh

तत्that (therefore/then)

कर्तैवthe doer alone

समश्नातिeats/enjoys (experiences fully)

बान्धवानाम्of kinsmen/relatives

किम्what (what role/what concern)

अत्रhere, in this matter

हindeed (emphatic particle)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

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?

Moral causality is personal: the agent who performs good or harmful actions is the one who experiences their results; relatives cannot truly share, transfer, or cancel that karmic outcome.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhīṣma emphasizes individual accountability, warning that one should not rely on family ties to escape the consequences of one’s own deeds.