Shloka 203

Śreyas-nirdeśa (Discerning the Superior Good): Nārada–Gālava Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

क्षेत्रापणगृहासक्तं मृत्युरादाय गच्छति । वह अपने खेत

Transliteration

kṣetrāpaṇagṛhāsaktaṃ mṛtyur ādāya gacchati |

Translation

ಹೊಲ, ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆ ಮತ್ತು ಮನೆಯ ವ್ಯವಹಾರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸಕ್ತನಾಗಿ ಇರುವವನನ್ನು ಮರಣವು ಎತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಅವುಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಅವನು ಅನೇಕ ಕರ್ಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಲುಕುತ್ತಾನೆ; ಆದರೆ ಅವುಗಳ ಫಲ ದೊರಕುವ ಮುನ್ನವೇ ಮರಣವು ಅವನನ್ನು ಈ ಲೋಕದಿಂದ ಕಸಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ.

Word by Word

• क्षेत्रापणगृहासक्तम्: attached to field, shop, and house
• क्षेत्रापणगृहासक्तम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षेत्र-अपण-गृह-आसक्त
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• मृत्युः: death
• मृत्युः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• आदाय: having taken (away)
• आदाय: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ + दा
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund)

• गच्छति: goes
• गच्छति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Death (Mṛtyu)
• field (kṣetra)
• market/shop (āpaṇa)
• house/home (gṛha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Worldly attachments—especially to property, trade, and household preoccupations—do not guarantee fulfillment; death can intervene before any expected ‘fruit’ arrives. Therefore one should prioritize dharma, inner discipline, and a life oriented to lasting values rather than endless acquisition.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and the conduct of life. Here he offers a reflective warning: a person engrossed in managing land, commerce, and home becomes trapped in many undertakings, yet death abruptly removes him, exposing the uncertainty of worldly plans.