Shloka 20
प्रजापतयः देवगणाश्च दिशि-दिशि स्थिताः ऋषयः
Prajāpatis, Deva-Groups, and the Ṛṣis Assigned to the Directions
शब्दाश्न॒ रूपाणि रसाश्न पुण्या: स्पर्शाश्व गन्धाश्व शुभास्तथैव । नरो न संस्थानगत: प्रभु: स्या- देतत् फलं सिद्धाति कर्मलोके
śabdāś ca rūpāṇi rasāś ca puṇyāḥ sparśāś ca gandhāś ca śubhās tathaiva | naro na saṃsthānagataḥ prabhuḥ syād etat phalaṃ siddhyati karmaloke ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Klang, Gestalt, reine Geschmäcke, angenehme Berührung und lieblicher Duft—dies sind die Früchte, die Handlungen hervorbringen. Doch der Mensch, obgleich er im Gefüge des Leibes wohnt, ist nicht völlig Herr darüber, sie zu erlangen. Das wirkliche Eintreffen solcher Ergebnisse in der Welt des Handelns—zumal der Leib, durch den man sie erfährt—hängt vom Geschick, vom Daiva (daiva), ab.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sensory enjoyments (sound, form, taste, touch, smell) are karmic results, but an embodied person is not an absolute controller over obtaining them; the fruition of karma—especially the body and circumstances through which one experiences results—depends on daiva (destiny/divine dispensation).
In Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on the nature of karma and its results, emphasizing the limits of human control and the role of daiva in the actual experience of karmic fruits.