Shloka 39
Śakra–Namuci-saṃvāda: Śoka-nivāraṇa and Daiva-vicāra
Indra and Namuci on grief, composure, and inevitability
एवमेष प्रसंख्यात: स्वकर्मप्रत्ययो गुण: । कथज्चिद् वर्तते सम्यक् केषांचिद् वा निवर्तते,इस प्रकार अपने कर्मके अनुसार गुणकी प्राप्तिके विषयमें कहा गया है। अज्ञानियोंके ये गुण सम्यक्रूपेण प्रवृत्त होते हैं और ज्ञानियोंके निवृत्त हो जाते हैं
evam eṣa prasaṅkhyātaḥ svakarma-pratyayo guṇaḥ | kathañcid vartate samyak keṣāñcid vā nivartate ||
Bhishma said: “Thus has this quality been explained as arising in accordance with one’s own actions. In some persons it functions in a proper, active way; in others it withdraws and ceases—especially where true knowledge has arisen.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that the guṇas (dispositional qualities) manifest according to one’s own karma; they actively operate in those lacking true knowledge, but in the wise they subside—indicating mastery over impulses and a movement toward inner freedom.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhishthira, Bhishma continues a philosophical explanation of conduct and inner qualities, summarizing how karmic tendencies produce guṇas and how spiritual insight leads to their cessation or non-binding operation.