Shloka 10

उपवासविधि-प्रश्नः

Inquiry into the Discipline of Fasting

Devanagari script

जिस कुलमें पापी पुरुष जन्म लेता है

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | sarve cāpi vikarmasthā bhāgaṃ nārhanti sodarāḥ | nāpradāya kaniṣṭhebhyo jyeṣṭhaḥ kurvīta yautakam |

Translation

Dijo Bhīṣma: Aunque sean hermanos de sangre, quienes persisten en actos pecaminosos e ilícitos no merecen parte de la herencia ancestral. Y el primogénito no debe apropiarse del patrimonio para sí sin haber dado antes a los menores la porción que les corresponde. Un solo hombre malvado nacido en una familia puede ser causa de ruina extendida: mancha el linaje y destruye su buena reputación.

Word by Word

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• विकर्मस्थाः: engaged in wrongful acts
• विकर्मस्थाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विकर्मस्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भागम्: share/portion
• भागम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अर्हन्ति: deserve/are entitled to
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• सोदराः: uterine brothers (brothers of the same mother)
• सोदराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोदर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अप्रदाय: without giving (having not given)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-दा
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Active

• कनिष्ठेभ्यः: to the younger (brothers)
• कनिष्ठेभ्यः: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कनिष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Plural

• ज्येष्ठः: the eldest (brother)
• ज्येष्ठः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्येष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कुर्वीत: should do/should take up
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Optative, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• यौतकम्: inheritance/ancestral property (share taken as one’s due)
• यौतकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यौतकम्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• elder brother (jyeṣṭha)
• younger brothers (kaniṣṭhāḥ/sodarāḥ)
• ancestral share/estate (bhāga)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that inheritance is governed by dharma: persistent wrongdoers forfeit entitlement to a share, and the eldest must act justly by first allotting the younger brothers their due before taking or arranging his own portion—protecting both fairness and the family’s honor.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction on righteous conduct and social order, he lays down a rule about division of ancestral property among brothers, linking moral character (vikarma) with legal/ethical entitlement and warning that a sinner can bring disgrace and ruin upon an entire lineage.