Shloka 16

Devanagari script

न तेषां भिद्यते वृत्तं यज्ञा: स्वाध्यायकर्म च । आचार: कारणं चैव धर्मश्वैकस्त्रयं पुन:

Transliteration

na teṣāṁ bhidyate vṛttaṁ yajñāḥ svādhyāya-karma ca | ācāraḥ kāraṇaṁ caiva dharmaś caikaḥ trayaṁ punaḥ ||

Translation

Бхишма сказал: «У таких святых людей их уклад жизни никогда не нарушается — не прерываются ни жертвоприношения, ни svādhyāya (изучение и чтение Вед), ни прочие священные обязанности. В них поведение, авторитетные источники, разъясняющие его (Веды и śāstra), и dharma не противоречат друг другу: все трое пребывают в единой согласованности».

Word by Word

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

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, plural

• भिद्यते: is broken / is disrupted
• Type: Verb
• Root: भिद्
• Form: present, passive (ātmanepada form), third, singular

• वृत्तम्: conduct / practice
• वृत्तम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृत्त
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• यज्ञाः: sacrifices
• यज्ञाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• स्वाध्याय: self-study (Vedic recitation/study)
• स्वाध्याय: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वाध्याय
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• कर्म: ritual action / duty
• कर्म: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन्
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

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

• आचारः: right conduct
• आचारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आचार
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• कारणम्: cause / basis
• कारणम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

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

• एव: indeed / just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• धर्मः: dharma / righteousness
• धर्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

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

• एकः: one / unified
• एकः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• त्रयम्: a triad / threefold set
• त्रयम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रय
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• पुनः: again / moreover
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True saints maintain an unbroken moral discipline: their conduct, their Vedic study, and their sacrificial duties remain steady, and their lived practice (ācāra), scriptural authority (Veda-śāstra), and dharma mutually confirm one another as a single coherent whole.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he describes the hallmark of the righteous: their daily life and religious observances do not falter, and their behavior aligns naturally with scriptural teaching and the principles of dharma.