Shloka 8

Devanagari script

किमाश्चर्य च यन्मूढो धर्मकामो<प्यधर्मवित्‌ । सुमहत्‌ प्राप्तुयात्‌ पुण्यं गड़्ायामिव कौशिक:,कैसा आश्चर्य है कि धर्मकी इच्छा रखनेवाला मूर्ख (तपस्वी) (सत्य बोलकर भी) अधर्मके फलको प्राप्त हो जाता है। (कर्णपर्व अध्याय ६९) और गंगाके तटपर रहनेवाले एक उल्लूकी भाँति कोई (हिंसा करके भी) महान्‌ पुण्य प्राप्त कर लेता हैः

Transliteration

kim āścaryaṃ ca yan mūḍho dharmakāmo 'py adharmavit | sumahat prāpnuyāt puṇyaṃ gaṅgāyām iva kauśikaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: What is so surprising in this—that a deluded man, though desiring dharma, may still be one who understands (or practices) adharma, and thus attain a very great result? Just so, like Kauśika on the Gaṅgā, one may obtain great merit in a way that appears paradoxical. For in moral life the outcomes can seem inverted: one who aims at righteousness may fall into unrighteous consequence, while another, even through acts that look blameworthy, may accrue merit—depending on intention, context, and the subtle workings of dharma.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'kim āścaryam', 'definition': 'what wonder? what is surprising?'}, {'term': 'mūḍhaḥ', 'definition': 'deluded, foolish, undiscerning person'}, {'term': 'dharmakāmaḥ', 'definition': 'one who desires dharma

• intent on righteousness'}, {'term': 'api', 'definition': 'even though

• although'}, {'term': 'adharmavit', 'definition': 'knower of adharma / one aligned with adharma (context-dependent nuance)'}, {'term': 'sumahat', 'definition': 'very great, immense'}, {'term': 'prāpnuyāt', 'definition': 'may obtain, may attain'}, {'term': 'puṇyam', 'definition': 'merit

• auspicious moral fruit'}, {'term': 'gaṅgāyām', 'definition': 'in/on the Gaṅgā (river)

• at the Gaṅgā'}, {'term': 'iva', 'definition': 'like, as'}, {'term': 'kauśikaḥ', 'definition': 'Kauśika (a figure used as an exemplum in dharma-discourse)'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Gaṅgā
• Kauśika

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma highlights the subtlety of dharma: moral outcomes are not always straightforward. A person who intends dharma may still produce adharma due to delusion or misjudgment, while another may gain merit through actions that appear questionable when judged superficially. Dharma must be assessed with attention to intention, context, and the larger ethical order.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma addresses apparent contradictions in moral causality. He uses the exemplum of “Kauśika on the Gaṅgā” to illustrate that merit and demerit can accrue in unexpected ways, preparing the listener to accept nuanced, case-based ethical reasoning rather than rigid rules.