Shloka 3

इन्द्रेण वृत्रवधः, ब्रह्महत्याया अनुगमनम्, तथा च विभाजन-निवासविधानम्

Indra’s defeat of Vṛtra; pursuit by Brahmahatyā; allocation of her abodes

Devanagari script

करणे घटस्य या बुद्धिर्घटोत्पत्ती न सा मता । एवं धर्मभ्युपायेषु नान्यधर्मेषु कारणम्‌

Transliteration

karaṇe ghaṭasya yā buddhir ghaṭotpattau na sā matā | evaṁ dharmābhyupāyeṣu nānyadharmeṣu kāraṇam ||

Translation

Bhishma dijo: La destreza práctica empleada para hacer una vasija no se considera aún necesaria cuando la vasija ya ha llegado a existir. Del mismo modo, los ritos y otras disciplinas que sirven como medios hacia el dharma—como los sacrificios realizados para la purificación—una vez cumplido su propósito, no son la causa directa de otras disciplinas más elevadas; para la búsqueda de la liberación, hay que apoyarse en virtudes distintas, como el dominio de sí y la calma interior, que son en sí mismas los medios hacia el moksha.

Word by Word

• {'karaṇe': 'in the making/doing

• in the process of production', 'ghaṭasya': 'of the pot (ghaṭa)', 'buddhiḥ': 'intelligence, practical understanding, operative know-how', 'yā': 'which', 'ghaṭotpattau': 'upon the arising/production of the pot

• once the pot is produced', 'na': 'not', 'sā': 'that (same)', 'matā': 'considered, held to be', 'evaṁ': 'thus, in the same way', 'dharma-abhyupāyeṣu': 'in the means/expedients that lead to dharma (preparatory religious practices)', 'na-anya-dharmeṣu': 'not (as a cause) in other dharmas

• not for different/other disciplines', 'kāraṇam': 'cause, direct instrument'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• pot (ghaṭa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Preparatory religious acts are useful as means (e.g., for purification), but once their intended result is achieved they are not the direct instrument for the next, higher goal; liberation requires its own specific disciplines such as inner calm and self-control.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva discourse, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and liberation, using the analogy of pot-making to distinguish between preliminary practices and the distinct virtues required for moksha.