Shloka 32

Devanagari script

अविद्या कर्म तृष्णा च केचिदाहु: पुनर्भवे । कारणं लोभमोहौ तु दोषाणां तु निषेवणम्‌,कुछ लोग अविद्या, कर्म, तृष्णा, लोभ, मोह तथा दोषोंके सेवनको पुनर्जन्ममें कारण बताते हैं

Transliteration

avidyā karma tṛṣṇā ca kecid āhuḥ punarbhave | kāraṇaṁ lobha-mohau tu doṣāṇāṁ tu niṣevaṇam ||

Translation

Bhīṣma berkata: Sebagian menyatakan bahwa kebodohan (avidyā), tindakan (karma), dan nafsu-keinginan (tṛṣṇā) adalah sebab kelahiran kembali; yang lain menunjuk pada keserakahan, delusi, serta kebiasaan menuruti cela dan keburukan.

Word by Word

अविद्याignorance

कर्मaction (karma)

तृष्णाcraving

चand

केचित्some (people)

आहुःsay / have said

पुनर्भवेin rebirth

कारणम्cause

लोभमोहौgreed and delusion

तुbut / indeed

दोषाणाम्of faults / vices

तुand / indeed

निषेवणम्indulgence; practice (of)

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?

Rebirth is sustained by inner causes—ignorance and craving, expressed through actions, and reinforced by greed, delusion, and habitual indulgence in vices. Ethical purification and right knowledge are implied remedies.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma teaches by listing what various authorities consider the roots of punarbhava (rebirth), emphasizing psychological and moral causes rather than external ones.