Shloka 19
Bhīṣma on the Śara-Śayyā: Yudhiṣṭhira and Kṛṣṇa Approach the Eldest for Śānti
संहारश्वैव भूतानां धर्मस्य च फलोदय: । विदितस्ते महाप्राज्ञ त्वं हि धर्ममयो निधि:
saṃhāraś caiva bhūtānāṃ dharmasya ca phalodayaḥ | viditas te mahāprājña tvaṃ hi dharmamayo nidhiḥ ||
毗舍波耶那说道：“大智者啊，众生何时遭逢毁灭，法之果报为何，以及其果何时成熟，你皆已洞悉；因为你实为充盈法德的宝藏。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma in terms of causality and moral order: dharma yields a ‘fruit’ (phala), and that fruit ‘arises’ (udaya) in due time. It also links cosmic events like destruction (saṃhāra) with intelligible principles known to the wise, implying that ethical law and the timing of consequences are part of a larger order.
Vaiśampāyana addresses a highly learned interlocutor, acknowledging that the person already understands key questions—when destruction of beings occurs and how dharma produces results. The line functions as a respectful preface, elevating the addressee as a repository of dharma before further exposition.