Shloka 16
Kṛṣṇasya Karṇam Prati Sāntvavacana
Kṛṣṇa’s Conciliatory Address to Karṇa
दत्त हुतमधीतं च ब्राह्मणास्तर्पिता धनै: । आवयोर्गतमायुश्न॒ कृतकृत्यौ च विद्धि नौ
dattaṁ hutam adhītaṁ ca brāhmaṇās tarpītā dhanaiḥ | āvayor gatam āyuḥna kṛtakṛtyau ca viddhi nau ||
毗湿摩说道：“我们早已完成了应当完成之事——施与布施，奉行祭祀，勤修圣典之学（自学）。以我们的财富，我们已使婆罗门满足。如今，命中所定的寿数已至尽头；因此，当知我们已尽其责，所当为者无一未为。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a classical dharmic ideal: a life is considered complete when one has upheld the three pillars of righteous living—charity (dāna), sacrificial duty (yajña/homa), and sacred study (svādhyāya)—and has honored the learned (brāhmaṇas). With life nearing its end, one should be regarded as kṛtakṛtya, having discharged essential obligations.
Bhīṣma speaks in the Udyoga Parva context of counsel and preparation before the great war. He characterizes himself (and another, implied by the dual forms) as having completed the principal religious and social duties of life, indicating that their remaining time is short and that they stand as duty-fulfilled elders whose counsel should be heeded.