Shloka 74
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
नित्यमेव हि पश्यन्ति देहिनां देहसंश्रिता: । सुकृतं दुष्कृतं चापि कर्म धर्मभूतां वर
nityam eva hi paśyanti dehināṁ dehasaṁśritāḥ | sukṛtaṁ duṣkṛtaṁ cāpi karma dharmabhūtāṁ vara ||
“தர்மவான்களில் சிறந்தவரே! உடலுடையோரின் உடலிலே தங்கியுள்ள இச்சாட்சிகள் எப்போதும் அவர்களின் செயல்களை—புண்ணியமும் பாவமும்—இரண்டையும் காண்கின்றன.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions are continuously witnessed from within embodied existence; both merit and sin are observed and thus carry inevitable ethical consequence. The verse underscores inbuilt accountability: one cannot truly hide one’s conduct, because the very conditions of embodied life function as constant testimony.
Bhishma is instructing a listener addressed as ‘best of the righteous’ about dharma and karma. He frames moral life as supervised by ever-present internal witnesses associated with the body, setting up a broader teaching on ethical conduct and responsibility.