Shloka 65
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
यदत्र गुणसम्पन्नमितरद् वा हुताशन । त्वय्येव तदहं मन्ये धर्माधर्मा च केवलौ,“हुताशन! इस कार्यमें यदि कोई गुण या दोषमुक्त परिणाम हो अथवा केवल धर्म या अधर्म हो, उन सबका उत्तरदायित्व आपपर ही है, ऐसा मैं मानती हूँ”
yad atra guṇasampannam itarad vā hutāśana | tvayy eva tad ahaṃ manye dharmādharmā ca kevalau ||
“Wahai Hutāśana! Dalam perbuatan ini, sama ada hasilnya beroleh kebajikan atau sebaliknya, dan sama ada ia membawa semata-mata kepada dharma atau semata-mata kepada adharma—segala tanggungjawabnya, pada hematku, terletak pada-Mu seorang.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames moral accountability in terms of agency and witness: the merit or fault of an act—and whether it yields dharma or adharma—is attributed to Hutāśana (Agni). In context, this highlights how ritual fire functions as a divine witness/arbiter, and it also dramatizes the ethical weight of actions by locating responsibility in the invoked power overseeing the rite.
Bhīṣma addresses Hutāśana (Agni) directly, referring to an ongoing or contemplated act. He states that whatever the act’s outcome—good or bad, righteous or unrighteous—he regards it as resting upon Agni. The speech reflects a solemn moment where consequences are being acknowledged under divine witness.