Shloka 3

चिरकारि-उपाख्यानम् / The Exemplum of Cirakārī: Deliberation Before Irreversible Action

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच सदाचार: स्मृतिर्वेदास्त्रिविधं धर्मलक्षणम्‌ | चतुर्थमर्थमित्याहु: कवयो धर्मलक्षणम्‌,भीष्मजी कहते हैं--युधिष्ठिर! वेद, स्मृति और सदाचार--ये तीन धर्मके स्वरूपको लक्षित करानेवाले हैं। कुछ विद्वान्‌ अर्थको भी धर्मका चौथा लक्षण बताते हैं

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca sadācāraḥ smṛtir vedās trividhaṃ dharmalakṣaṇam | caturtham artham ity āhuḥ kavayo dharmalakṣaṇam ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “Right conduct, the Smṛti tradition, and the Vedas—these three are the marks by which dharma is recognized. Some learned sages also declare artha (practical welfare and material means) to be a fourth mark of dharma.”

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'sadācāraḥ': 'good conduct

• established righteous practice of the virtuous', 'smṛtiḥ': 'Smṛti

• remembered tradition (law-codes, dharmaśāstra, customary injunctions)', 'vedāḥ': 'the Vedas

• revealed scripture (śruti)', 'trividham': 'threefold

• consisting of three', 'dharma-lakṣaṇam': 'mark/criterion/indicator of dharma

• that by which dharma is known', 'caturtham': 'fourth', 'artham': 'artha

• material prosperity, practical advantage, means of life and governance', 'iti āhuḥ': 'thus they say', 'kavayaḥ': 'poets/sages

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Veda
• Smṛti
• Sadācāra
• Artha
• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is to be identified through authoritative sources and lived practice: the Vedas (revelation), Smṛti (traditional legal-ethical memory), and sadācāra (the conduct of the good). Some authorities add artha—practical welfare and material means—as an additional criterion, emphasizing that dharma must also sustain life and social order.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma continues his discourse on dharma by listing the recognized indicators/sources by which dharma is known, framing how a ruler should judge right action amid complex situations.