Shloka 23

भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः

Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify

Devanagari script

तस्य पापस्य सततं क्रियमाणस्य कर्मण: । साम्प्रतं सुमहद्‌ घोरं फल प्राप्तं जनेश्वर,जनेश्वर! निरन्तर किये जानेवाले उसी पाप-कर्मका इस समय यह अत्यन्त भयंकर फल प्राप्त हुआ है

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

tasya pāpasya satataṃ kriyamāṇasya karmaṇaḥ |

sāmprataṃ sumahad ghoraṃ phalaṃ prāptaṃ janeśvara ||

Translation

Sanjaya said: O lord of men, for that sinful deed—persistently committed again and again—there has now been obtained a very great and dreadful consequence. The terrible fruit of sustained wrongdoing has at last ripened in the present moment.

Word by Word

तस्यof that

पापस्यof the sin

सततम्constantly, continually

क्रियमाणस्यbeing done, being performed

कर्मणःof the act/deed

साम्प्रतम्now, at present

सुमहत्very great

घोरम्terrible, dreadful

फलम्result, fruit

प्राप्तम्obtained, has been received

जनेश्वरO lord of men (king)

जनेश्वरO lord of men (repeated address)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

janeśvara (the king addressed, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Persistent wrongdoing (pāpa) is not morally neutral: repeated harmful action accumulates and eventually yields a severe consequence (phala). The verse underscores karmic causality and ethical accountability, especially in the context of rulers and war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya, narrating events to the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), interprets the unfolding horrors of the war as the ripened fruit of continually performed sinful actions—an ethical commentary on how long-standing misdeeds culminate in present calamity.