Shloka 24

एकान्तिधर्म-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into Ekāntin Dharma) / The Origin and Practice of Single-Pointed Nārāyaṇa-Centered Discipline

Devanagari script

काम्यनैमित्तिका राजन्‌ यज्ञिया: परमक्रिया: । सर्वा: सात्वतमास्थाय विधि चक्रे समाहित:

Transliteration

kāmyanaimittikā rājan yajñiyāḥ paramakriyāḥ | sarvāḥ sātvatam āsthāya vidhiṃ cakre samāhitaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “O King, with steady concentration they would always perform the highest sacrificial rites—both those undertaken for desired results and those prompted by specific occasions—carrying out every procedure in accordance with the Sātvata (Vaiṣṇava) tradition and its prescribed rule.”

Word by Word

• काम्य: desire-motivated (optional)
• काम्य: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काम्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नैमित्तिकाः: occasional/for a specific cause
• नैमित्तिकाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नैमित्तिक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• यज्ञियाः: pertaining to sacrifice; sacrificial
• यज्ञियाः: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यज्ञिय
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• परमक्रियाः: supreme rites/acts
• परमक्रियाः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम-क्रिया
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• सात्वतम्: the Sātvata (Vaiṣṇava) system/teaching
• सात्वतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सात्वत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आस्थाय: having resorted to / adopting
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-स्था
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• विधिम्: rule; prescribed procedure
• विधिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• चक्रे: did; performed
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), Atmanepada, Third, Singular

• समाहितः: composed; attentive; concentrated
• समाहितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-धा
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• rājan (the King, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira as addressee)
• Sātvata (Vaiṣṇava tradition)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ritual action becomes ethically grounded when performed with attentiveness and in obedience to a recognized dharmic rule (vidhi). Even goal-oriented rites (kāmya) are to be regulated by discipline, tradition, and devotion rather than mere desire.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is instructing the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) and describes exemplary people who regularly performed both optional (kāmya) and occasion-driven (naimittika) sacrifices, completing them according to the Sātvata/Vaiṣṇava injunctions with a composed, focused mind.