Shloka 3

चिरकारि-उपाख्यानम् / The Exemplum of Cirakārī: Deliberation Before Irreversible Action

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच सदाचार: स्मृतिर्वेदास्त्रिविधं धर्मलक्षणम्‌ | चतुर्थमर्थमित्याहु: कवयो धर्मलक्षणम्‌

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca sadācāraḥ smṛtir vedās trividhaṃ dharmalakṣaṇam | caturtham artham ity āhuḥ kavayo dharmalakṣaṇam ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“由提施提罗啊，正行（善行）、《忆传》（Smṛti）与吠陀——此三者乃识别法（dharma）之标志。亦有贤哲称：阿尔塔（artha，现实利益与物质资具）亦可为法之第四标志。”

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'sadācāraḥ': 'good conduct

• established righteous practice of the virtuous', 'smṛtiḥ': 'Smṛti

• remembered tradition (law-codes, dharmaśāstra, customary injunctions)', 'vedāḥ': 'the Vedas

• revealed scripture (śruti)', 'trividham': 'threefold

• consisting of three', 'dharma-lakṣaṇam': 'mark/criterion/indicator of dharma

• that by which dharma is known', 'caturtham': 'fourth', 'artham': 'artha

• material prosperity, practical advantage, means of life and governance', 'iti āhuḥ': 'thus they say', 'kavayaḥ': 'poets/sages

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Veda
• Smṛti
• Sadācāra
• Artha
• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is to be identified through authoritative sources and lived practice: the Vedas (revelation), Smṛti (traditional legal-ethical memory), and sadācāra (the conduct of the good). Some authorities add artha—practical welfare and material means—as an additional criterion, emphasizing that dharma must also sustain life and social order.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma continues his discourse on dharma by listing the recognized indicators/sources by which dharma is known, framing how a ruler should judge right action amid complex situations.