Shloka 153

आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः

Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca

Devanagari script

कस्यचितन्नाभिजानामि प्रीतिं निष्कारणामिह । “यह जीव-जगत्‌ स्वार्थका ही साथी है। कोई किसीका प्रिय नहीं है। दो सगे भाइयों तथा पति और पत्नीमें भी जो परस्पर प्रेम होता है, वह भी स्वार्थवश ही है। इस जगत्‌में किसीके भी प्रेमको मैं निष्कारण (स्वार्थरहित) नहीं समझता ।।

Transliteration

kasyacit tan nābhijānāmi prītiṁ niṣkāraṇām iha |

Translation

Bhīṣma dijo: «En este mundo no reconozco el afecto de nadie como verdaderamente inmotivado. Los seres y la sociedad caminan juntos sobre todo por interés propio; nadie es querido por otro sin alguna causa. Incluso el amor entre dos hermanos de sangre, o entre esposo y esposa, suele estar ligado a la ventaja personal. Por ello, no considero que haya en este mundo amor alguno completamente desinteresado».

Word by Word

• {'kasyacit': 'of anyone

• of some person (genitive singular)', 'tat': 'that (referring to the kind of affection under discussion)', 'na': 'not', 'abhijānāmi': 'I know

• I acknowledge (1st person singular, present)', 'prītiṁ': 'affection

• goodwill (accusative singular)', 'niṣkāraṇām': 'without cause

• disinterested (accusative singular feminine)', 'iha': 'here

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• brothers (generic)
• husband
• wife
• the world (iha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma emphasizes a realistic ethical insight: most human affection is conditioned by causes—benefit, expectation, duty, or attachment—so one should not be naive about motives and should cultivate discernment and detachment while pursuing dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhishthira, Bhishma is explaining the nature of worldly relationships and motivations, arguing that even intimate bonds commonly operate with underlying reasons rather than pure, causeless love.