Shloka 4

Adhyāya 9: Pratiśruta-Dāna

The Duty to Fulfill Promised Gifts

Devanagari script

यां रात्रि जायते जीवो यां रात्रि च विनश्यति । एतस्मिन्नन्तरे यद्‌ यत्‌ सुकृतं तस्य भारत

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca |

yāṃ rātri jāyate jīvo yāṃ rātri ca vinaśyati |

etasminn antare yad yat sukṛtaṃ tasya bhārata bharatanandana |

Translation

Bhishma nói: “Hỡi hậu duệ nhà Bharata, đêm mà một sinh linh sinh ra và đêm mà nó lìa đời—giữa hai đêm ấy, mọi công đức nó làm trong đời đều bị tiêu trừ. Tất cả những gì đạt được nhờ tế lễ, bố thí và khổ hạnh đều bị phá hủy bởi tội lỗi của việc bội ước trọng thệ.”

Word by Word

• याम्: which (whom/that)
• याम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• रात्रिम्: night
• रात्रिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• जायते: is born
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Atmanepada

• जीवः: a living being
• जीवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जीव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• याम्: which
• याम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• रात्रिम्: night
• रात्रिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

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

• विनश्यति: perishes/dies
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• एतस्मिन्: in this
• एतस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अन्तरे: in the interval/between
• अन्तरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• यत्: whatever
• यत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• यत्: whatever (each and every)
• यत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• सुकृतम्: merit/virtuous deed
• सुकृतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुकृत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• तस्य: of him/of that
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• भरत-नन्दन: O delight of Bharata (descendant of Bharata)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरतनन्दन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Bhārata (Yudhiṣṭhira as addressee)
• Bharatanandana (Yudhiṣṭhira as addressee)
• jīva (living being)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma stresses the ethical gravity of keeping one’s pledged word: a single breach of a solemn vow can nullify the spiritual fruits of a lifetime of meritorious acts such as sacrifice, charity, and austerity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anushasana Parva’s instructional setting, Bhishma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and frames human life as the interval between birth-night and death-night, using that span to emphasize how vow-breaking can overwhelm accumulated merit.