Shloka 20

Devanagari script

शुभाशुभानि कर्माणि मृत्यु: कालश्न सर्वश: । विश्वेदेवा: पितृगणा मूर्तिमन्तस्तपोधना:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | śubhāśubhāni karmāṇi mṛtyuḥ kālaś ca sarvaśaḥ | viśvedevāḥ pitṛgaṇā mūrtimantas tapodhanāḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “All auspicious and inauspicious deeds are fully observed by Death and by Time. The Viśvedevas and the embodied hosts of the Pitṛs—rich in ascetic merit—also keep watch. Though unseen, these divine witnesses behold the conduct of all beings and, when remembered and praised, they bestow fitting results, supporting the moral order of the world.”

Word by Word

• शुभ: auspicious (good)
• शुभ: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• अशुभानि: inauspicious (evil)
• अशुभानि: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• कर्माणि: deeds, actions
• कर्माणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• मृत्युः: Death (personified)
• मृत्युः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कालः: Time (personified)
• कालः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• सर्वशः: entirely, in every way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वशस् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)

• विश्वेदेवाः: the All-gods (Viśvedevas)
• विश्वेदेवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वेदेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• पितृगणाः: groups of Pitṛs (manes/ancestors)
• पितृगणाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृगण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• मूर्तिमन्तः: embodied, having form
• मूर्तिमन्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूर्तिमन्त् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तपोधनाः: those whose wealth is austerity; ascetics
• तपोधनाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपोधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Mṛtyu (Death)
• Kāla (Time)
• Viśvedevāḥ
• Pitṛgaṇāḥ (Pitṛs/ancestors)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That no action—good or bad—escapes moral accounting: cosmic principles (Time and Death) and divine/ancestral beings are portrayed as witnesses who ensure that deeds bear appropriate results, reinforcing responsibility and dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma is instructing on ethical governance of life by describing unseen overseers of conduct—Mṛtyu, Kāla, the Viśvedevas, and the Pitṛ-hosts—who observe beings’ actions and confer outcomes, especially upon those who remember and honor them.