Shloka 85

ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana

River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor

Devanagari script

यान्येव पुरुष: कुर्वन्‌ सुखै: कालेन युज्यते

Transliteration

yānyeva puruṣaḥ kurvan sukhaiḥ kālena yujyate

Translation

毗湿摩说：“人无论作何业行，待时机成熟，终将与由其所作而生的 सुख——诸般安乐与舒适——相应相合，并亲自受用。”

Word by Word

• यानि: which (things)
• यानि: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (प्रातिपदिक: य-)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

• एव: indeed/only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• पुरुषः: a man/person
• पुरुषः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कुर्वन्: doing/performing
• कुर्वन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सुखैः: with pleasures/happinesses
• सुखैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• कालेन: in due course/with time
• कालेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• युज्यते: is joined with/attains/comes to have
• Type: Verb
• Root: युज् (धातु; युज्यते = युज् + यक्, आत्मनेपद)
• Form: Present, Atmanepada, Third, Singular, Passive/mediopassive (यक्)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• puruṣa (a person)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Actions are not isolated: in the course of time (kāla), a person becomes connected with the सुख (pleasant results) that correspond to what he has done—implying moral causality and the ripening of karma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. This line states a general principle: deeds performed by a person mature over time into experienced outcomes, here expressed in terms of सुख (enjoyments/comforts).