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

भीष्म उवाच—नासम्यक् कृतकारी स्यात्, अप्रमत्तः सदा भवेत्। कण्टकोऽपि हि दुश्छिन्नो विकारं कुरुते चिरम्॥

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.