Shloka 2

Devanagari script

तत्र चेन्न भवेदेवं संशय: कर्मसिद्धये । कि तु कर्म स्वभावो<यं ज्ञानं कर्मेति वा पुन:,यदि कर्ममें संशय न हो तो वह सिद्धि देनेवाला होता है। यहाँ संदेह यह होता है कि क्या यह कर्म स्वभावसिद्ध है अथवा ज्ञानजनित?

Transliteration

tatra cen na bhaved evaṁ saṁśayaḥ karmasiddhaye | kintu karma svabhāvo ’yaṁ jñānaṁ karmeti vā punaḥ ||

Translation

Wenn es hierin keinen Zweifel gäbe, wäre Handeln tatsächlich ein unmittelbares Mittel zur Erlangung. Doch hier erhebt sich der Zweifel: Geht dieses Handeln bloß aus der angeborenen Natur hervor, oder ist es wiederum als Handeln zu verstehen, das im Wissen gründet?

Word by Word

तत्रthere, in that matter

चेत्if

नnot

भवेत्would be / should be

एवम्thus, in this way

संशयःdoubt

कर्मसिद्धयेfor the accomplishment/success of action

किम्what?

तुbut, however

कर्मaction

स्वभावःnature, inherent character

अयम्this

ज्ञानम्knowledge

कर्मaction

इतिthus, as (it is said/thought)

वाor

पुनःagain; moreover

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a key philosophical problem: action would be a clear means to attainment if it were free from doubt, but uncertainty persists about whether action is merely driven by innate nature (svabhāva) or whether true action must be informed and transformed by knowledge (jñāna).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa frames a reflective inquiry within the Śānti Parva’s instruction: he points out that the discussion turns on a doubt about the basis of karma—whether it is simply natural impulse or a disciplined practice rooted in understanding—thereby setting up further clarification on the relation between knowledge and action.