Shloka 151

आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः

Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca

Devanagari script

तम्मित्र कारणं सर्व विस्तरेणापि मे शूणु । कारणात्‌ प्रियतामेति द्वेष्यो भवति कारणात्‌

Transliteration

tan mitra kāraṇaṁ sarvaṁ vistareṇāpi me śṛṇu | kāraṇāt priyatām eti dveṣyo bhavati kāraṇāt ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Écoute, mon ami, tandis que je t’explique en détail toute la raison de cela. Même les paroles douces que tu prononces — “Aujourd’hui tu me parais très cher” — ont une cause. On est aimé pour des causes, et l’on est haï pour des causes.»

Word by Word

• {'tat (tam)': 'that

• him/that matter (accusative singular, referring to the point at hand)', 'mitra': 'friend', 'kāraṇa': 'cause, reason, ground', 'sarvam': 'all, the whole', 'vistareṇa': 'in detail, at length', 'api': 'also, even', 'me': 'to me / my', 'śṛṇu': 'hear, listen (imperative)', 'kāraṇāt': 'from/because of a cause (ablative

• ‘due to’)', 'priyatām eti': 'attains dear-ness

• becomes beloved/pleasing', 'dveṣyaḥ': 'hateful, an object of aversion', 'bhavati': 'becomes'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Affection and aversion do not arise without grounds; they are produced by causes—conduct, qualities, actions, and circumstances. Therefore one should examine causes rather than be carried away by flattering speech or sudden feelings.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhishma continues his didactic discourse, responding to a conversational prompt about someone expressing fondness. He frames the discussion by saying he will explain the underlying reasons, emphasizing that both love and hatred are causally conditioned.