Shloka 16
Kṛṣṇasya Karṇam Prati Sāntvavacana
Kṛṣṇa’s Conciliatory Address to Karṇa
दत्त हुतमधीतं च ब्राह्मणास्तर्पिता धनै: । आवयोर्गतमायुश्न॒ कृतकृत्यौ च विद्धि नौ,हम दोनोंने तो दान, यज्ञ और स्वाध्याय कर लिये। धनसे ब्राह्मणोंको तृप्त कर लिया। अब हमारी आयु समाप्त हो चुकी है, अतः हमें तो तुम कृतकृत्य ही समझो
dattaṁ hutam adhītaṁ ca brāhmaṇās tarpītā dhanaiḥ | āvayor gatam āyuḥna kṛtakṛtyau ca viddhi nau ||
दत्तं हुतमधीतं च ब्राह्मणास्तर्पिता धनैः । आवयोर्गतमायुषं कृतकृत्यौ च विद्धि नौ ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a classical dharmic ideal: a life is considered complete when one has upheld the three pillars of righteous living—charity (dāna), sacrificial duty (yajña/homa), and sacred study (svādhyāya)—and has honored the learned (brāhmaṇas). With life nearing its end, one should be regarded as kṛtakṛtya, having discharged essential obligations.
Bhīṣma speaks in the Udyoga Parva context of counsel and preparation before the great war. He characterizes himself (and another, implied by the dual forms) as having completed the principal religious and social duties of life, indicating that their remaining time is short and that they stand as duty-fulfilled elders whose counsel should be heeded.