Shloka 5

Adhyāya 241: Guṇa-sṛṣṭi, Kṣetrajña-sākṣitva, and Śama through Ātma-jñāna (गुणसृष्टिः, क्षेत्रज्ञसाक्षित्वं, शमः)

Devanagari script

अस्ति धर्म इति प्रोक्त नास्तीत्यत्रैव यो वदेत्‌ । तस्य पक्षस्य सदृशमिदं मम भवेद्‌ व्यथा

Transliteration

asti dharma iti prokta nāstīty atraiva yo vadet | tasya pakṣasya sadṛśam idaṁ mama bhaved vyathā ||

Translation

毗湿摩说：“经典宣示：‘法（dharma）存在。’然而若有人就在此处断言：‘法不存在’，信奉者听闻此言所生的痛楚——那痛楚正与信奉者一方相应——同样地，这关于业与智孰高孰下的问题，也令我心中为之苦恼。”

Word by Word

• {'asti': 'exists

• is', 'dharmaḥ': 'dharma

• righteous duty', 'iti': 'thus

• ‘so’ (quotative particle)', 'proktaḥ/proktam': 'declared

• stated (by authoritative teaching)', 'nāsti': 'does not exist

• is not', 'atraiva': 'right here

• in this very matter/context', 'yaḥ': 'who

• whoever', 'vadet': 'would say

• might assert', 'tasya': 'of that (person/claim)

• of him', 'pakṣasya': 'of the side/position

• of the standpoint', 'sadṛśam': 'similar

• corresponding', 'idam': 'this', 'mama': 'for me

• my', 'bhavet': 'would be

• may become', 'vyathā': 'pain

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma underscores that denying the existence of dharma contradicts authoritative teaching and causes deep moral-spiritual distress; he likens his own discomfort over debates on the hierarchy of action and knowledge to the pain a believer feels when dharma is negated.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instructional setting, Bhishma is responding to a philosophical query; before addressing the issue of the relative status of karma (action) and vidyā/jñāna (knowledge), he remarks that such disputation troubles him much like hearing an outright denial of dharma.