Shloka 9
Adhyāya 241: Guṇa-sṛṣṭi, Kṣetrajña-sākṣitva, and Śama through Ātma-jñāna (गुणसृष्टिः, क्षेत्रज्ञसाक्षित्वं, शमः)
कर्म त्वेके प्रशंसन्ति स्वल्पबुद्धिरता नरा: । तेन ते देहजालानि रमयन्त उपासते
karma tv eke praśaṃsanti svalpabuddhiratā narāḥ | tena te dehajālāni ramayanta upāsate |
Dijo Bhishma: Algunos hombres, de entendimiento escaso e incompleto, alaban sólo la acción (karma). Por eso, deleitándose en la trama de las existencias corporales, se aferran a esos cuerpos y los persiguen una y otra vez, tomando el saber de los sentidos por todo el saber y quedando atados al goce y a sus frutos.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma warns that praising karma alone—especially desire-motivated action—reflects limited understanding. When one mistakes sensory cognition for true knowledge, one becomes attached to enjoyment and thereby remains bound to repeated embodied existence (a ‘web of bodies’).
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira. Here he contrasts shallow endorsement of result-seeking action with a deeper perspective that sees attachment as the cause of continued bondage and repeated embodiment.