Shloka 56

Devanagari script

सहजं चिरकारित्वमतिप्रज्ञतया तव । सफल तत्‌ तथा तेस्तु भवाद्य चिरकारिक:,“अत्यन्त बुद्धिमान्‌ होनेके कारण तुझमें जो चिरकारिताका सहज गुण है, वह इस समय सफल हो। आज तू वास्तवमें चिरकारी बन

Transliteration

sahajaṃ cirakāritvam atiprajñatayā tava | saphalaṃ tat tathā te 'stu bhavādya cirakārikaḥ ||

Translation

ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ನೀನು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾವಂತನಾಗಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ನಿನ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಹಜವಾಗಿ ಇರುವ ಚಿರಕಾರಿತ್ವವು ಈಗ ಫಲಿಸಲಿ. ಇಂದು ನೀನು ನಿಜವಾಗಿ ‘ಚಿರಕಾರೀ’ ಆಗು.

Word by Word

सहजम्innate, natural

चिरकारित्वम्the quality of delaying/being slow to act

अतिप्रज्ञतयाby (your) great intelligence

तवof you, your

सफलम्successful, fruitful

तत्that (quality/thing)

तथाthus, in that manner

तेto you

अस्तुlet it be

भवbe (become)

अद्यtoday, now

चिरकारिकःa procrastinator; one who acts after long delay

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

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?

Bhishma commends reflective intelligence and urges that careful deliberation should become effective action at the right moment—prudence is a virtue only when it culminates in timely, dharmic decision.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhishma addresses his listener with counsel, praising their innate tendency to act after due thought and exhorting them to embody that quality decisively ‘today’.