Shloka 7

Devanagari script

यश्चाधर्म चरेललोभात्‌ कामक्रोधावनुप्लवन्‌ । धर्म्य पन्थानमाक्रम्य सानुबन्धो विनश्यति

Transliteration

yaścādharmaṃ carel lobhāt kāmakrodhāv anuplavan | dharmyaṃ panthānam ākramya sānubandho vinaśyati ||

Translation

Dijo Bhīṣma: Quien, movido por la codicia, practica la injusticia—arrastrado por el deseo y la ira—, aunque pise un sendero que parece recto y conforme al dharma, queda arruinado junto con todo lo que está ligado a él (sus vínculos, sus consecuencias y sus dependientes).

Word by Word

यःwho

चand

अधर्मम्unrighteousness, adharma

चरेत्would practice/commit

लोभात्from greed, out of greed

कामक्रोधौdesire and anger

अनुप्लवन्being overwhelmed by / being swept along by

धर्म्यम्righteous, in accordance with dharma

पन्थानम्path, way

आक्रम्यhaving taken/entered upon

सानुबन्धःtogether with its consequences/attachments

विनश्यतिperishes, is ruined

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma teaches that greed-driven unrighteous conduct, fueled by desire and anger, destroys a person; even adopting a seemingly righteous course cannot save one if the inner motives and impulses remain corrupt—ruin follows along with all connected consequences and relationships.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he warns about the inner drivers of adharma—lobha, kāma, and krodha—and emphasizes that ethical life depends not only on outwardly taking a ‘righteous path’ but on mastering these impulses.