Shloka 11

Śvetadvīpa-varṇana and Śāstra-pravartana (Śānti Parva 322)

Devanagari script

स्वकर्मफलनिक्षेपं विधानपरिरक्षितम्‌ । भूतग्राममिमं काल: समन्तादपकर्षति,अपने-अपने कर्मका फल एक धरोहरके समान है, वह शास्त्रविधानके अनुसार सुरक्षित रहता है। उपयुक्त अवसर आनेपर यह काल इस प्राणिसमुदायको कर्मानुसार खींच ले जाता है

Transliteration

svakarmaphalanikṣepaṁ vidhānaparirakṣitam | bhūtagrāmam imaṁ kālaḥ samantād apakarṣati ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „Das Depot der Früchte der eigenen Taten wird unter dem Schutz der schriftgemäßen Ordnung bewahrt. Wenn der passende Augenblick kommt, zieht die Zeit diese ganze Menge von Wesen von allen Seiten heran und trägt jeden gemäß dem Schwung seiner Werke davon.“

Word by Word

स्वकर्मफलनिक्षेपम्the deposit/placing of the fruit of one’s own actions

विधानपरिरक्षितम्protected/guarded by ordinance (scriptural rule)

भूतग्रामम्the multitude/aggregate of beings

इमम्this

कालःTime (Death/time-force)

समन्तात्from all sides; entirely

अपकर्षतिdraws away; drags off

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Kāla (Time)

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?

Karmic results are not lost: they remain preserved as if in a trust under the order of dharma/śāstra, and Time eventually brings them to fruition, moving beings toward experiences that correspond to their own deeds.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the moral structure of the world. Here he explains how the fruits of actions are safeguarded and, at the proper time, Kāla (Time) draws all beings onward in accordance with their karma.