Shloka 111
आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः
Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca
नच वक्चित् कृते कार्य कर्तारें समवेक्षते
na ca vakcit kṛte kārya kartāraṃ samavekṣate
Bhishma said: “And one should not, after an act has been done, look around for someone to be treated as the doer (to be credited or blamed).” In the ethical frame of Śānti Parva, the point is to restrain the mind from post‑facto fixation on agency—especially the urge to assign praise or fault—so that judgment remains aligned with dharma rather than reactive emotion.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not become obsessed, after an event, with pinpointing a single ‘doer’ to praise or blame; ethical clarity requires restraint from reactive attribution and a steadier view aligned with dharma.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct; here he offers a maxim about how one should regard actions and agency, discouraging post‑facto fixation on who should be labeled the agent.