Shloka 12

भीष्मविक्रमदर्शनं तथा क्रौञ्चारुणव्यूहविधानम् | Bhīṣma’s Ascendancy and the Organization of the Krauñcāruṇa Formation

Devanagari script

अनिष्टमिष्टं मिश्र॑ च त्रिविध॑ कर्मण: फलम्‌ । भवत्यत्यागिनां प्रेत्य न तु संन्यासिनां क्वचित्‌,कर्मफलका त्याग न करनेवाले मनुष्योंके कर्मोका तो अच्छा, बुरा और मिला हुआ-- ऐसे तीन प्रकारका फल मरनेके पश्चात्‌ अवश्य होता है; किंतु कर्मफलका त्याग कर देनेवाले मनुष्योंके कर्मोॉंका फल किसी कालमें भी नहीं होता

Transliteration

aniṣṭam iṣṭaṃ miśraṃ ca trividhaṃ karmaṇaḥ phalam | bhavaty atyāgināṃ pretya na tu saṃnyāsināṃ kvacit ||

Translation

Arjuna said: For those who do not relinquish the fruits of action, the result of karma after death is inevitably threefold—unpleasant, pleasant, or mixed. But for those who have renounced the fruits (and thus stand in true renunciation), no such karmic result accrues at any time.

Word by Word

• {'aniṣṭam': 'undesired, unpleasant (result)', 'iṣṭam': 'desired, pleasant (result)', 'miśram': 'mixed (partly pleasant and partly unpleasant)', 'trividham': 'threefold', 'karmaṇaḥ': 'of action

• of karma', 'phalam': 'fruit, result, consequence', 'bhavati': 'arises, comes to be', 'atyāginām': 'of non-renouncers

• of those who do not give up (the fruit)', 'pretya': 'after death

• having departed (this life)', 'na': 'not', 'tu': 'but', 'saṃnyāsinām': 'of renouncers

• of those established in renunciation', 'kvacit': 'ever, at any time'}

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts two orientations to action: (1) the non-renouncer who clings to outcomes and therefore necessarily reaps post-mortem consequences—pleasant, unpleasant, or mixed; and (2) the renouncer who gives up claim to the fruit of action, for whom karmic ‘results’ do not bind. Ethically, it urges inner detachment from reward as the condition for freedom from karmic bondage.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma Parva’s Bhagavadgītā context, Arjuna is engaged in a doctrinal exchange about action, renunciation, and their consequences. This line articulates a key distinction: ordinary action tied to desire yields inevitable results, while renunciatory action—marked by relinquishing the fruit—does not generate binding consequences.