Shanti Parva Adhyaya 265 Shloka 40 - Mahabharata | French | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 40

पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation

Devanagari script

नापराधो<स्ति नारीणां नर एवापराध्यति । सर्वकार्यापरा ध्यत्वान्नापरा ध्यन्ति चाड़ना:

Transliteration

nāparādho 'sti nārīṇāṃ nara evāparādhyati | sarvakāryāparā dhyatvān nāparā dhyanti cābalāḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Ici, les femmes ne sont pas en faute ; l’homme seul commet l’offense. Parce que les femmes sont sans pouvoir dans la conduite des affaires, on les pousse souvent au mal ; étant sous la dépendance d’autrui, elles ne doivent pas être jugées coupables.»

Word by Word

नnot

अपराधःfault, offense

अस्तिis/exists

नारीणाम्of women

नरःman

एवindeed, only

अपराध्यतिcommits an offense

सर्वकार्यापराध्यत्वात्because of being made to offend in all tasks/affairs

नnot

अपराध्यन्तिcommit offenses

चand

अबला:women (the weak/helpless)

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 distinguishes moral blame from mere involvement: when a person lacks autonomy and is compelled by circumstances or control of others, full culpability should not be assigned to them; responsibility lies primarily with the one who exercises agency and initiates the wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s dharma-discourse, Bhīṣma is instructing on ethical judgment and social responsibility, arguing that in certain situations women, being constrained and dependent in worldly affairs, should not be treated as the principal offenders; the man who acts with initiative bears the blame.