Shloka 16
Śvetadvīpa-varṇana and Śāstra-pravartana (Śānti Parva 322)
यथा धेनुसहस्रेषु वत्सो विन्दति मातरम् | तथा पूर्वकृतं कर्म कर्तारमनुगच्छति
yathā dhenusahasreṣu vatso vindati mātaram | tathā pūrvakṛtaṃ karma kartāram anugacchati ||
قال بهيشما: كما أن العِجل، ولو كان بين ألف بقرة، يعرف أمه ويهتدي إليها، كذلك الفعلُ الذي صُنع في الماضي لا بد أن يتعقّب فاعله ويصل إليه بعينه.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That karma is inescapable: actions, along with their moral consequences, inevitably return to and ‘find’ the very person who performed them, just as a calf unfailingly finds its own mother even in a large herd.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhishma is teaching Yudhishthira through a vivid simile, emphasizing that past deeds inevitably pursue their agent and bear fruit.