Shloka 3
Adhyāya 241: Guṇa-sṛṣṭi, Kṣetrajña-sākṣitva, and Śama through Ātma-jñāna (गुणसृष्टिः, क्षेत्रज्ञसाक्षित्वं, शमः)
मैं इस विषयको सुनना चाहता हूँ, आप कृपापूर्वक मुझे यह बतावें। ये दोनों वचन एक दूसरेके विपरीत हैं, अतः प्रतिकूल परिणाम ही उत्पन्न कर सकते हैं ।। भीष्म उवाच इत्युक्त: प्रत्युवाचेदं पराशरसुत: सुतम् । कर्मविद्यामयावेतौ व्याख्यास्यामि क्षराक्षरी,भीष्मजी कहते हैं--राजन्! शुकदेवजीके इस प्रकार पूछनेपर पराशरनन्दन भगवान् व्यासने यों उत्तर दिया-'बेटा! ये कर्ममय और ज्ञानमय मार्ग क्रमशः: विनाशशील और अविनाशी हैं, मैं इनकी व्याख्या आरम्भ करता हूँ
bhīṣma uvāca | ity uktaḥ pratyuvācedaṃ parāśarāsutaḥ sutam | karmavidyāmayāv etau vyākhyāsyāmi kṣarākṣarī ||
Bhishma said: When this was spoken, Vyasa, Parashara’s son, replied to his own son: “My child, these two paths—one grounded in action (karma) and the other in knowledge (jñāna)—are respectively perishable and imperishable. I shall now begin to explain them.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse introduces a key distinction: the action-oriented discipline (karma) operates within the perishable realm (kṣara), while the knowledge-oriented discipline (jñāna) leads toward the imperishable (akṣara). Apparent contradictions in teachings are resolved by recognizing their different aims and results.
Bhishma reports that after a question is posed, Vyasa—identified as Parashara’s son—responds to his son (traditionally Shuka). Vyasa announces he will explain two seemingly opposed teachings by clarifying the two paths: karma-based and knowledge-based.