Shloka 3

Devanagari script

करणे घटस्य या बुद्धिर्घटोत्पत्ती न सा मता । एवं धर्मभ्युपायेषु नान्यधर्मेषु कारणम्‌,घटके निर्माणकालमें जिस बुद्धिका उपयोग है, वह घटकी उत्पत्ति हो जानेपर आवश्यक नहीं रहती, इसी प्रकार चित्त-शुद्धिके उपायभूत यज्ञादि धर्मोंका लक्ष्य पूरा हो जानेपर मोक्षसाधनरूप शम-दमादि अन्य धर्मोंके लिये वे आवश्यक नहीं रहते

Transliteration

karaṇe ghaṭasya yā buddhir ghaṭotpattau na sā matā | evaṁ dharmābhyupāyeṣu nānyadharmeṣu kāraṇam ||

Translation

Bhishma said: The practical know-how employed in making a pot is not regarded as still necessary once the pot has come into being. In the same way, ritual and other disciplines that serve as means toward dharma—such as sacrifices undertaken for purification—are not, after their purpose is fulfilled, the direct cause for other, higher disciplines; for the pursuit of liberation, one must rely on the distinct virtues like self-control and inner calm that are themselves the means to moksha.

Word by Word

• {'karaṇe': 'in the making/doing

• in the process of production', 'ghaṭasya': 'of the pot (ghaṭa)', 'buddhiḥ': 'intelligence, practical understanding, operative know-how', 'yā': 'which', 'ghaṭotpattau': 'upon the arising/production of the pot

• once the pot is produced', 'na': 'not', 'sā': 'that (same)', 'matā': 'considered, held to be', 'evaṁ': 'thus, in the same way', 'dharma-abhyupāyeṣu': 'in the means/expedients that lead to dharma (preparatory religious practices)', 'na-anya-dharmeṣu': 'not (as a cause) in other dharmas

• not for different/other disciplines', 'kāraṇam': 'cause, direct instrument'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• pot (ghaṭa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Preparatory religious acts are useful as means (e.g., for purification), but once their intended result is achieved they are not the direct instrument for the next, higher goal; liberation requires its own specific disciplines such as inner calm and self-control.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva discourse, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and liberation, using the analogy of pot-making to distinguish between preliminary practices and the distinct virtues required for moksha.