Shloka 17
फलं कर्म च निर्लहेतु न कश्चित् सम्प्रवर्तते । यथा राजा च कर्ता च स्यातां कर्मणि भागिनौ
phalaṁ karma ca nirlhetu na kaścit sampravartate | yathā rājā ca kartā ca syātāṁ karmaṇi bhāginau ||
ফল বা কৰ্ম—হেতু নথকা হলে কোনো মানুহে প্ৰবৃত্ত নহয়। তেনেদৰে যিকোনো কাৰ্যত আদেশ দিয়া ৰজা আৰু কৰ্ম কৰা কৰ্তা—দুয়ো সেই কৰ্মৰ অংশীদাৰ হয়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions are not undertaken without some motive—either for the expected result or for the act itself—and responsibility for a deed is shared by both the authority who commissions it (the king) and the agent who performs it.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and governance, Bhishma explains principles of moral causality and political ethics, emphasizing that rulers cannot evade accountability by blaming only subordinates, nor can agents claim innocence by pointing only to orders.