Shloka 4

Tapas, Tīrtha, and Moral Rehabilitation (Śānti-parva 148)

Devanagari script

शुभं कर्म परित्यज्य सो5हं शकुनिलुब्धक: । नृशंसस्य ममाद्यायं प्रत्यादेशो न संशय:

Transliteration

śubhaṃ karma parityajya so'haṃ śakunilubdhakaḥ | nṛśaṃsasya mamādyāyaṃ pratyādeśo na saṃśayaḥ ||

Translation

நல்லொழுக்கத்தைத் துறந்து நான் சூதாடியும் பறவை வேட்டைக்காரனுமாகிவிட்டேன். என்னைப் போன்ற கொடூரனுக்கு ஐயமில்லை—இன்று என் செயல்களுக்கே உரிய பதிலடி, என் கர்மத்தின் தக்க பிரதிபலன் எனக்கே வந்து சேர்ந்துள்ளது.

Word by Word

शुभम्auspicious (thing)

कर्मdeed, action

परित्यज्यhaving abandoned

सःhe

अहम्I

शकुनि-लुब्धकःbird-catcher, fowler

नृशंसस्यof the cruel (one)

ममof me, my

अद्यtoday, now

अयम्this

प्रत्यादेशःretribution, return (of consequences)

नnot

संशयःdoubt

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That abandoning virtuous action leads to moral downfall, and that suffering can be understood as the fitting return (pratyādeśa) of one’s own cruel deeds—an affirmation of ethical causality and accountability.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, speaking in the Śānti Parva, reflects on his own conduct with harsh self-judgment, likening himself to a gambler and a hunter, and interprets his present condition as deserved recompense for cruelty.