Shloka 45
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
कर्मणा बाध्यते रूपं कर्मणा चोपलभ्यते । कर्मणा नीयते<न्यत्र स्वकृतेन बलीयसा
karmaṇā bādhyate rūpaṃ karmaṇā copalabhyate | karmaṇā nīyate 'nyatra svakṛtena balīyasā ||
Bhishma sprach: „Die verkörperte Gestalt wird durch Handlungen gebunden und geformt; allein durch Handlungen wird eine andere Verkörperung erlangt. Und durch die Kraft der eigenen mächtigen Taten wird das Selbst anderswohin getragen—hinein in jenen anderen Leib.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That karma is the governing force shaping one’s present embodiment and determining the next: actions bind the current form, procure another body, and propel the self into that future condition.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhishma teaches Yudhishthira about the inevitability of karmic consequence—linking ethical action to embodied fate and future rebirth.