Shloka 8

Satya–Anṛta Viveka (Discrimination between Truth and Falsehood) | सत्य–अनृत विवेकः

Devanagari script

किमाश्चर्य च यन्मूढो धर्मकामो<प्यधर्मवित्‌ । सुमहत्‌ प्राप्तुयात्‌ पुण्यं गड़्ायामिव कौशिक:

Transliteration

kim āścaryaṃ ca yan mūḍho dharmakāmo 'py adharmavit | sumahat prāpnuyāt puṇyaṃ gaṅgāyām iva kauśikaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说：此事有何可惊？一个迷妄之人，虽欲行持达摩（dharma），却仍可能理解或践行阿达摩（adharma），因而获得极其巨大的结果。正如恒河岸边的考施迦（Kauśika）之事，人也可能以看似悖论的方式取得大功德。因为在道德人生中，果报有时仿佛颠倒：志在正法者或堕入不义之果；而另一些人，即便所行在外观上可责，却可能积聚功德——这取决于其意乐、处境，以及达摩微妙而深隐的运作。

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'kim āścaryam', 'definition': 'what wonder? what is surprising?'}, {'term': 'mūḍhaḥ', 'definition': 'deluded, foolish, undiscerning person'}, {'term': 'dharmakāmaḥ', 'definition': 'one who desires dharma

• intent on righteousness'}, {'term': 'api', 'definition': 'even though

• although'}, {'term': 'adharmavit', 'definition': 'knower of adharma / one aligned with adharma (context-dependent nuance)'}, {'term': 'sumahat', 'definition': 'very great, immense'}, {'term': 'prāpnuyāt', 'definition': 'may obtain, may attain'}, {'term': 'puṇyam', 'definition': 'merit

• auspicious moral fruit'}, {'term': 'gaṅgāyām', 'definition': 'in/on the Gaṅgā (river)

• at the Gaṅgā'}, {'term': 'iva', 'definition': 'like, as'}, {'term': 'kauśikaḥ', 'definition': 'Kauśika (a figure used as an exemplum in dharma-discourse)'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Gaṅgā
• Kauśika

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma highlights the subtlety of dharma: moral outcomes are not always straightforward. A person who intends dharma may still produce adharma due to delusion or misjudgment, while another may gain merit through actions that appear questionable when judged superficially. Dharma must be assessed with attention to intention, context, and the larger ethical order.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma addresses apparent contradictions in moral causality. He uses the exemplum of “Kauśika on the Gaṅgā” to illustrate that merit and demerit can accrue in unexpected ways, preparing the listener to accept nuanced, case-based ethical reasoning rather than rigid rules.