Shloka 74
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
नित्यमेव हि पश्यन्ति देहिनां देहसंश्रिता: । सुकृतं दुष्कृतं चापि कर्म धर्मभूतां वर,धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मण! पृथ्वी, वायु, आकाश, जल, नेत्र, बुद्धि, आत्मा, मन, काल और दिशाएँ--से दस गुण (वस्तुएँ) सदा ही प्राणियोंके शरीरमें स्थित होकर उनके पुण्य और पापकर्मको देखा करते हैं
nityam eva hi paśyanti dehināṁ dehasaṁśritāḥ | sukṛtaṁ duṣkṛtaṁ cāpi karma dharmabhūtāṁ vara ||
Bhishma said: “For indeed, always, certain witnesses abiding in the bodies of embodied beings observe their deeds—both the meritorious and the sinful. O best of the righteous, these ever-present factors within the living body stand as constant testimony to one’s conduct.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions are continuously witnessed from within embodied existence; both merit and sin are observed and thus carry inevitable ethical consequence. The verse underscores inbuilt accountability: one cannot truly hide one’s conduct, because the very conditions of embodied life function as constant testimony.
Bhishma is instructing a listener addressed as ‘best of the righteous’ about dharma and karma. He frames moral life as supervised by ever-present internal witnesses associated with the body, setting up a broader teaching on ethical conduct and responsibility.