Shloka 10

उपवासविधि-प्रश्नः

Inquiry into the Discipline of Fasting

Devanagari script

जिस कुलमें पापी पुरुष जन्म लेता है

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | sarve cāpi vikarmasthā bhāgaṃ nārhanti sodarāḥ | nāpradāya kaniṣṭhebhyo jyeṣṭhaḥ kurvīta yautakam |

Translation

ഏതു കുലത്തിൽ പാപപുരുഷൻ ജനിക്കുന്നുവോ, അവൻ സകല അനർത്ഥങ്ങൾക്കും കാരണമായി കുലത്തെ കളങ്കപ്പെടുത്തുകയും സുകീർത്തി നശിപ്പിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നു. കൂടാതെ, സഹോദരന്മാരായാലും അധർമ്മകൃത്യങ്ങളിൽ നിലകൊള്ളുന്നവർ പിതൃസ്വത്തിൽ പങ്കിന് അർഹരല്ല. ഇളയവർക്ക് അവരുടെ യഥോചിത പങ്ക് നൽകി കഴിഞ്ഞാൽ മാത്രമേ മൂത്തവൻ തന്റെ പങ്ക് സ്വീകരിക്കാവൂ; മുൻകൂട്ടി കൈവശപ്പെടുത്തരുത്.

Word by Word

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• विकर्मस्थाः: engaged in wrongful acts
• विकर्मस्थाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विकर्मस्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भागम्: share/portion
• भागम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अर्हन्ति: deserve/are entitled to
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• सोदराः: uterine brothers (brothers of the same mother)
• सोदराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोदर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अप्रदाय: without giving (having not given)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-दा
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Active

• कनिष्ठेभ्यः: to the younger (brothers)
• कनिष्ठेभ्यः: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कनिष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Plural

• ज्येष्ठः: the eldest (brother)
• ज्येष्ठः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्येष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कुर्वीत: should do/should take up
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Optative, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• यौतकम्: inheritance/ancestral property (share taken as one’s due)
• यौतकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यौतकम्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• elder brother (jyeṣṭha)
• younger brothers (kaniṣṭhāḥ/sodarāḥ)
• ancestral share/estate (bhāga)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that inheritance is governed by dharma: persistent wrongdoers forfeit entitlement to a share, and the eldest must act justly by first allotting the younger brothers their due before taking or arranging his own portion—protecting both fairness and the family’s honor.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction on righteous conduct and social order, he lays down a rule about division of ancestral property among brothers, linking moral character (vikarma) with legal/ethical entitlement and warning that a sinner can bring disgrace and ruin upon an entire lineage.