Shloka 31
Mind as Charioteer; Kṣetrajña, Tapas, and Dhyāna-Yoga
Adhyātma-Upadeśa
एवं कर्म कृतं चित्र विषयस्थं पृथक् पृथक् । यथा कर्म कृतं लोके तथैतानुपपद्यते
evaṁ karma kṛtaṁ citraṁ viṣaya-sthaṁ pṛthak pṛthak | yathā karma kṛtaṁ loke tathaitān upapadyate ||
Thus, actions—variegated in kind—bear their results in distinct and corresponding spheres. Just as one cannot move on land by mounting a boat, nor travel in water by mounting a chariot, so too do diverse deeds lead to different destinations. In this world, whatever action a person performs, that very kind of consequence befalls them.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions are domain-specific in their effects: each deed yields a corresponding result, and mismatched means cannot produce the intended end—just as a boat is for water and a chariot for land.
Vayudeva delivers a didactic statement explaining karmic correspondence, using everyday analogies (boat/land, chariot/water) to stress that beings reach different outcomes according to the particular actions they have performed.