Shloka 11

Khaḍgotpattiḥ (Origin and Dharmic Function of the Sword) | खड्गोत्पत्तिः

Devanagari script

मूलं लोभस्य मोहो वै कालात्मगतिरेव च । छिने भिन्ने तथा लोभे कारणं काल एव च,मोह ही निः:संदेह लोभका मूलकारण है। यह कालस्वरूप मोहात्मक अज्ञान ही मनुष्यकी बुरी गतिका कारण है। लोभके छिन्न-भिन्न होनेमें भी काल ही कारण है

Transliteration

mūlaṃ lobhasya moho vai kālātmagatir eva ca | chinne bhinne tathā lobhe kāraṇaṃ kāla eva ca ||

Translation

భీష్ముడు పలికెను— మోహమే లోభానికి మూలం; అంతరాత్మగా చలించే కాలమే జీవులను వారి నియత గమ్యగతికి నడిపిస్తుంది. లోభం నరికివేయబడినా, ముక్కలైపోయినా, దాని ఉద్భవం మరియు లయానికి నిర్ణాయక కారణం కాలమే.

Word by Word

मूलम्root, source

लोभस्यof greed

मोहःdelusion

वैindeed

कालात्मगतिḥthe course/destiny that is of the nature of Time

एवonly, just

चand

छिन्नेwhen cut off

भिन्नेwhen split, divided

तथाthus, likewise

लोभेin greed / with regard to greed

कारणम्cause

कालःTime (as a cosmic principle)

एवalone, indeed

चand

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

kāla (Time)

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?

Greed does not stand on its own: its root is delusion (moha), and behind both the arising and the breaking of greed stands Time (kāla) as an overarching, inevitable principle. Ethical effort therefore requires clarity of understanding to counter delusion, while recognizing the larger force of time that ripens tendencies and outcomes.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and inner discipline after the war. Here he analyzes the causal chain behind moral downfall: delusion gives birth to greed, and Time governs the unfolding, intensification, and eventual dissolution of such impulses.