Shloka 24

Karma-Phala Rahasya and the Ethics of Dāna (कर्मफल-रहस्यं दानधर्मश्च)

Devanagari script

जीर्यन्ति जीर्यतः केशा दन्ता जीर्यन्ति जीर्यत: । चक्षु:श्रोत्रे च जीर्येते तृष्णैका न तु जीर्यते

Transliteration

jīryanti jīryataḥ keśā dantā jīryanti jīryataḥ | cakṣuḥśrotre ca jīryete tṛṣṇaikā na tu jīryate ||

Translation

ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು— ಮನುಷ್ಯನು ವೃದ್ಧನಾದಾಗ ಕೂದಲು ಜೀರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಉದುರುತ್ತದೆ; ಹಲ್ಲುಗಳೂ ಜೀರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಮುರಿಯುತ್ತವೆ. ಕಣ್ಣು ಮತ್ತು ಕಿವಿಯೂ ಕ್ಷೀಣಿಸುತ್ತವೆ; ಆದರೆ ತೃಷ್ಣೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಜೀರ್ಣವಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ— ಅದು ಸದಾ ಹೊಸದಾಗಿಯೇ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ.

Word by Word

• {'jīryanti': 'they decay, they wear out', 'jīryataḥ': 'as (one) decays/ages

• in the state of aging (genitive/ablative sense used adverbially)', 'keśāḥ': 'hairs (of the head)', 'dantāḥ': 'teeth', 'cakṣuḥ': 'eye

• sight', 'śrotre': 'the two ears

• hearing (dual)', 'ca': 'and', 'tṛṣṇā': 'thirst

• insatiable desire', 'ekā': 'alone', 'na': 'not', 'tu': 'but, however'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• tṛṣṇā (craving/desire)
• keśa (hair)
• danta (teeth)
• cakṣus (eyes)
• śrotra (ears)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Physical faculties inevitably decline with age, but craving (tṛṣṇā) can remain undiminished; therefore one should cultivate restraint and detachment deliberately, rather than assuming old age will automatically end desire.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct; here he offers a reflective maxim about aging to underscore the moral need to govern desire.