Shloka 45
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
तेन ज्ञानेन विज्ञाय गतिं चाशुभकर्मणाम् | तिर्यग्योनिगतानां च विज्ञाय गतय: पृथक्,युधिष्ठिर! जो मनुष्य माताओं, देवताओं तथा सम्पूर्ण लोकोंके प्रति उत्तम बर्ताव नहीं करते हैं, उनकी दुर्गतिका ज्ञान जिससे होता है, उसी ज्ञानसे पापाचारी पुरुषोंकी अधोगतिका ज्ञान प्राप्त करे तथा तिर्यग्योनिमें पड़े हुए प्राणियोंकी जो विभिन्न गतियाँ होती हैं, उनको भी जान ले
bhīṣma uvāca | tena jñānena vijñāya gatiṃ cāśubhakarmaṇām | tiryagyonigatānāṃ ca vijñāya gatayaḥ pṛthak, yudhiṣṭhira |
Bhishma sprach: „Mit eben diesem Wissen erkenne die Geschicke, die auf unheilvolle Taten folgen. Und, o Yudhishthira, unterscheide auch die verschiedenen Bahnen der Wesen, die in tierischen Leibern geboren werden—wie ihre Wege voneinander abweichen—damit die abwärts führenden Folgen sündhaften Handelns deutlich werden.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma urges Yudhishthira to use discriminative knowledge to understand how unethical actions lead to lower destinies, and to recognize that even among non-human births there are distinct outcomes shaped by karma.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma continues his post-war counsel to Yudhishthira, directing him toward a clear grasp of karmic consequences—especially the downward trajectories associated with harmful conduct and the differentiated fates of beings in animal births.