Shloka 3

Devanagari script

अभिद्रवत्ययस्कान्तमयो निश्चेतनं यथा । स्वभावहेतुजा भावा यद्वदन्यदपीदृशम्‌,जिस प्रकार लोहा अचेतन होनेपर भी चुम्बककी ओर खिंच जाता है, वैसे ही शरीरके उत्पन्न होनेपर प्राणीके स्वाभाविक संस्कार तथा अविद्या, काम, कर्म आदि दूसरे गुण उसकी ओर खिंच आते हैं

Transliteration

abhidravaty ayaskāntam ayo niścetanaṃ yathā | svabhāva-hetujā bhāvā yadvad anyad apīdṛśam ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sagte: „Wie Eisen, obgleich empfindungslos, zum Magneten hinläuft, so werden auch, wenn ein Körper entsteht, die angeborenen Dispositionen des Lebewesens—zusammen mit Unwissenheit, Begehren und dem Nachdruck vergangener Taten (Karma) und dergleichen—zu ihm hingezogen und heften sich an ihn.“

Word by Word

अभिद्रवतिruns/flows towards, is drawn towards

अयस्कान्तम्to the magnet (lodestone)

अयःiron

निश्चेतनम्insentient, unconscious

यथाjust as

स्वभावहेतुजाःarising from (one's) nature as the cause

भावाःstates/qualities/dispositions

यद्वत्in the same way as

अन्यत्other (thing)

अपिalso/even

ईदृशम्such/like this

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

ayaskānta (magnet)

ayas (iron)

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?

Bhīṣma teaches that bondage is not random: when embodiment occurs, innate tendencies (svabhāva/samskāra) and afflictions like ignorance and desire naturally ‘attach’ themselves, propelled by causal forces such as karma—much like iron is compelled toward a magnet.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation-oriented ethics and self-knowledge, Bhīṣma explains to the listener how psychological and karmic forces arise with embodiment, using a vivid physical analogy (iron and magnet) to clarify inevitability and causation.