Shloka 5
पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation
चिरं स चिन्तयत्यर्थश्रिरं जाग्रच्चिरं स्वपन् । चिरं कार्याभिपत्तिं च चिरकारी तथोच्यते
ciraṃ sa cintayaty arthaśrīraṃ jāgrac ciraṃ svapan | ciraṃ kāryābhipattiṃ ca cirakārī tathocyate ||
Bhishma said: “For a long time he would brood over matters of gain and prosperity; for a long time he would remain awake, and for a long time he would sleep. And he would bring his undertakings to completion only after long delay. Therefore people came to call him ‘Cirakārī’—the one who acts late.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse characterizes a person whose habitual slowness—extended thinking, wakefulness, sleep, and delayed completion of tasks—becomes a defining ethical trait, illustrating how repeated conduct turns into reputation and name.
Bhishma describes someone known for long delays in thought and action; because he completes work only after much time, people give him the epithet ‘Cirakārī’ (“late-acting”).