Shloka 4

बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency

Mahābhārata 12.217

Devanagari script

प्रवृत्तिलक्षणं धर्म प्रजापतिरथाब्रवीत्‌ | प्रवृत्ति: पुनरावृत्तिर्निवृत्ति: परमा गति:

Transliteration

pravṛttilakṣaṇaṁ dharmaṁ prajāpatir athābravīt | pravṛttiḥ punarāvṛttir nivṛttiḥ paramā gatiḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩曰：“生主（Prajāpati）曾宣说以‘趋入行动’（pravṛtti）为相之法；然而此趋入之道，正是反复回返之因，使人于世间轮回再生。唯有以‘退离’（nivṛtti）为相之法，乃至上之途，导向最高归宿。”

Word by Word

• {'pravṛtti-lakṣaṇam': 'having the mark/characteristic of worldly engagement

• action-oriented', 'dharmam': 'dharma

• righteous order, duty, ethical-religious law', 'prajāpatiḥ': 'Prajāpati

• the Lord of creatures, progenitor', 'atha': 'then

• and', 'abravīt': 'said

• declared', 'pravṛttiḥ': 'engagement in action

• outward-going life of duties/rituals', 'punar-āvṛttiḥ': 'return again

• repeated recurrence (often implying rebirth)', 'nivṛttiḥ': 'withdrawal

• renunciatory turning away from worldly action', 'paramā': 'supreme

• highest', 'gatiḥ': 'course

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Prajāpati

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma contrasts two orientations of dharma: pravṛtti (engaged action, often tied to worldly aims and ritual duty) which results in punarāvṛtti (recurrent return to saṁsāra), and nivṛtti (withdrawal/renunciation) which leads to the highest end (paramā gati), i.e., liberation-oriented fulfillment.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and the highest good, Bhishma speaks to the listener (Yudhiṣṭhira in this parva’s frame) and cites Prajāpati’s teaching to explain why action-based dharma sustains worldly continuity, while renunciatory dharma points toward the supreme goal.