Shloka 20
Adhyāya 174: Karma as an inescapable companion (कर्मानुगमन-उपदेश)
भारत! यह सारा प्रसड़ पूर्वकालमें मुझसे महर्षि नारदने कहा था। भरतश्रेष्ठ) इस महान् आख्यानको याद करके मैंने तुम्हारे समक्ष सब यथार्थरूपसे कहा है ।।
bhārata! idaṁ sarvaṁ prasādaḥ pūrvakāle mayā maharṣiṇā nāradena uktaḥ. bharataśreṣṭha! imaṁ mahān ākhyānaṁ smṛtvā mayā tava samakṣaṁ sarvaṁ yathārtharūpeṇa uktam. kutaḥ kṛtaghnasya yaśaḥ? kutaḥ sthānam? kutaḥ sukham? aśraddheyaḥ kṛtaghno hi; kṛtaghne nāsti niṣkṛtiḥ.
O descendant of Bharata, all this was once told to me long ago by the great sage Nārada. O best of the Bharatas, recalling that great narrative, I have related everything to you here exactly as it truly is. For the ungrateful, where can there be fame? Where can there be standing or honor? Where can there be happiness? The ungrateful person is indeed unworthy of trust; for one who is ungrateful, there is no expiation.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that ingratitude destroys a person’s moral credibility: an ungrateful person cannot attain true fame, honorable standing, or happiness, and is considered untrustworthy; the fault is portrayed as so grave that no atonement is available.
Bhīṣma tells Yudhiṣṭhira that he is faithfully repeating an earlier instruction he received from the sage Nārada. After invoking that authoritative source, he delivers a pointed ethical maxim condemning kṛtaghnatā (ingratitude).