Shloka 12
कुण्डधारोपाख्यानम्
Kuṇḍadhāra-Upākhyāna: Dharma’s Superiority over Wealth and Desire
प्रजापतिस्तानुवाच विषमं कृतमित्युत
prajāpatistān uvāca viṣamaṃ kṛtam ity uta
ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਤਦ ਪ੍ਰਜਾਪਤੀ ਨੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਹਾ—“ਇਹ ਕੰਮ ਵਿਸ਼ਮ, ਅਨਿਆਇਕ ਤਰੀਕੇ ਨਾਲ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ।”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds ethical discernment: actions and arrangements should be assessed for fairness and balance. Calling something viṣama (“unequal/unjust”) implies that dharma requires equity, proportion, and right ordering rather than arbitrary or biased outcomes.
Within Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, a prior episode is being cited where Prajāpati speaks to certain beings (“them”) and criticizes what has been done as viṣama—an unjust or improper act—setting up a corrective teaching or reordering consistent with dharma.