Shloka 1

कर्मनाशाभावः, गर्भे जीवप्रवेशः, आचारधर्मोपदेशः

Karma’s Non-Extinction, Jīva’s Entry into the Embryo, and Instruction on Conduct-Dharma

Devanagari script

भीकम (2 अमान अष्टादशो< ध्याय: जीवके गर्भ-प्रवेश

Transliteration

brāhmaṇa uvāca | śubhānām aśubhānāṁ ca neha nāśo 'sti karmaṇām | prāpya prāpyānupacyante kṣetre kṣetre tathā tathā ||

Translation

Le brahmane dit : «Ô Kāśyapa, en ce monde, les actes accomplis—heureux ou funestes—ne périssent pas sans avoir été éprouvés. Ils mûrissent encore et encore, produisant leur effet d’un champ à l’autre, selon ce qui leur correspond.»

Word by Word

• शुभानाम्: of good (deeds)
• शुभानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• अशुभानाम्: of bad (deeds)
• अशुभानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशुभ
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

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

• इह: here (in this world)
• इह: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह

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

• नाशः: destruction; cessation
• नाशः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अस्ति: is
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (अस्ति)
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• कर्मणाम्: of actions (karmas)
• कर्मणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• प्राप्य: having attained; having reached
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Active (sense)

• प्राप्यान्: attained (ones); reached (states/bodies)
• प्राप्यान्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle used adjectivally), Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• उपच्यन्ते: are experienced/undergone; come to fruition
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-चि (चिनोति/चिनुते; here in passive sense 'to accumulate/undergo')
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Ātmanepada/Passive sense

• क्षेत्रे: in a field (i.e., in a body/realm)
• क्षेत्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• क्षेत्रे: in (another) field
• क्षेत्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• तथा: thus; in that manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• तथा: again, likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (Brahmin speaker)
• काश्यप (Kāśyapa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Actions (karma), whether good or bad, inevitably mature into results (phala). They do not vanish on their own; rather, they bear fruit across successive embodiments or life-situations, in a manner consistent with the nature of the deed.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin addresses Kāśyapa and begins an instruction on moral causality: the inevitability of karmic fruition, implying that one’s experiences across different ‘fields’ (bodies/contexts) are shaped by prior deeds.