Shloka 60

Śaraṇāgatapālana—Prastāvanā

Protection of the Refuge-Seeker: Opening of the Kapota Narrative

Devanagari script

नासम्यक्‌ कृतकारी स्यादप्रमत्त: सदा भवेत्‌ | कण्टको<पि हि दुश्छिन्नो विकारं कुरुते चिरम्‌,“किसी कार्यको अच्छी तरह सम्पन्न किये बिना न छोड़े और सदा सावधान रहे। शरीरमें गड़ा हुआ काँटा भी यदि पूर्णरूपसे निकाल न दिया जाय--उसका कुछ भाग शरीरमें ही टूटकर रह जाय तो वह चिरकालतक विकार उत्पन्न करता है

Transliteration

nāsamyak kṛtakārī syād apramattaḥ sadā bhavet | kaṇṭako 'pi hi duśchinnaḥ vikāraṃ kurute ciram ||

Translation

Bhīṣma berkata: Jangan meninggalkan sesuatu pekerjaan sebelum disempurnakan dengan baik, dan hendaklah sentiasa berjaga-jaga. Kerana bahkan duri yang tercucuk, jika dicabut dengan buruk hingga ada serpihannya tertinggal, akan menimbulkan gangguan untuk waktu yang lama. Ajarannya menuntut ketelitian dan kewaspadaan berterusan, kerana sisa kecil kelalaian boleh membesar menjadi mudarat yang berpanjangan.

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'asamyak': 'improperly

• not thoroughly', 'kṛta-kārī': 'one who performs/finishes what is undertaken

• a doer who completes', 'syāt': 'should be

• may be', 'apramattaḥ': 'careful

• not negligent', 'sadā': 'always', 'bhavet': 'should be

• should become/remain', 'kaṇṭakaḥ': 'thorn

• splinter', 'api': 'even', 'hi': 'indeed

• for', 'duśchinnaḥ': 'badly cut/removed

• incompletely extracted', 'vikāram': 'disorder

• harmful change', 'kurute': 'causes

• does', 'ciram': 'for a long time'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• thorn (kaṇṭaka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Finish what you undertake with proper thoroughness and remain constantly vigilant; partial or careless completion leaves harmful remnants that can cause long-lasting trouble.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on righteous conduct and practical governance/ethics, using the example of an incompletely removed thorn to illustrate how negligence in small matters leads to enduring harm.