Shloka 19
Bhīṣma on the Śara-Śayyā: Yudhiṣṭhira and Kṛṣṇa Approach the Eldest for Śānti
संहारश्वैव भूतानां धर्मस्य च फलोदय: । विदितस्ते महाप्राज्ञ त्वं हि धर्ममयो निधि:
saṃhāraś caiva bhūtānāṃ dharmasya ca phalodayaḥ | viditas te mahāprājña tvaṃ hi dharmamayo nidhiḥ ||
മഹാപ്രാജ്ഞാ! ജീവികളുടെ സംഹാരം എപ്പോൾ സംഭവിക്കുന്നു, ധർമ്മത്തിന്റെ ഫലം എന്ത്, ആ ഫലോദയം എപ്പോൾ—ഇവയെല്ലാം നിങ്ങൾക്കറിയാം; കാരണം നിങ്ങൾ ധർമ്മം നിറഞ്ഞ നിധിയാണ്.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma in terms of causality and moral order: dharma yields a ‘fruit’ (phala), and that fruit ‘arises’ (udaya) in due time. It also links cosmic events like destruction (saṃhāra) with intelligible principles known to the wise, implying that ethical law and the timing of consequences are part of a larger order.
Vaiśampāyana addresses a highly learned interlocutor, acknowledging that the person already understands key questions—when destruction of beings occurs and how dharma produces results. The line functions as a respectful preface, elevating the addressee as a repository of dharma before further exposition.