Shloka 10

उपवासविधि-प्रश्नः

Inquiry into the Discipline of Fasting

Devanagari script

जिस कुलमें पापी पुरुष जन्म लेता है

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | sarve cāpi vikarmasthā bhāgaṃ nārhanti sodarāḥ | nāpradāya kaniṣṭhebhyo jyeṣṭhaḥ kurvīta yautakam |

Translation

ตระกูลใดมีคนบาปถือกำเนิด ผู้นั้นย่อมเป็นเหตุแห่งความวิบัติทั้งปวง ทำให้วงศ์ตระกูลมัวหมองและทำลายชื่อเสียงอันดี อีกทั้งแม้เป็นพี่น้องร่วมสายโลหิต หากยังตั้งอยู่ในกรรมอันผิดธรรม ก็ไม่สมควรได้ส่วนในทรัพย์มรดก และพี่ใหญ่ไม่พึงรับส่วนของตนจากทรัพย์บรรพชนก่อนที่จะจัดสรรส่วนอันควรแก่ผู้น้องเสียก่อน

Word by Word

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• विकर्मस्थाः: engaged in wrongful acts
• विकर्मस्थाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विकर्मस्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भागम्: share/portion
• भागम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अर्हन्ति: deserve/are entitled to
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• सोदराः: uterine brothers (brothers of the same mother)
• सोदराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोदर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अप्रदाय: without giving (having not given)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-दा
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Active

• कनिष्ठेभ्यः: to the younger (brothers)
• कनिष्ठेभ्यः: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कनिष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Plural

• ज्येष्ठः: the eldest (brother)
• ज्येष्ठः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्येष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कुर्वीत: should do/should take up
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Optative, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• यौतकम्: inheritance/ancestral property (share taken as one’s due)
• यौतकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यौतकम्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• elder brother (jyeṣṭha)
• younger brothers (kaniṣṭhāḥ/sodarāḥ)
• ancestral share/estate (bhāga)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that inheritance is governed by dharma: persistent wrongdoers forfeit entitlement to a share, and the eldest must act justly by first allotting the younger brothers their due before taking or arranging his own portion—protecting both fairness and the family’s honor.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction on righteous conduct and social order, he lays down a rule about division of ancestral property among brothers, linking moral character (vikarma) with legal/ethical entitlement and warning that a sinner can bring disgrace and ruin upon an entire lineage.