Shloka 12
अचोटद्यमानानि यथा पुष्पाणि च फलानि च । स्वं काल॑ नातिवर्तन्ते तथा कर्म पुरा कृतम्,जैसे फूल और फल किसीकी प्रेरणाके बिना ही अपने समयपर वृक्षोंमें लग जाते हैं, उसी प्रकार पहलेके किये हुए कर्म भी अपने फलभोगके समयका उल्लंघन नहीं करते
Bhīṣma uvāca: acoṭadyamānāni yathā puṣpāṇi ca phalāni ca | svaṁ kālaṁ nātivartante tathā karma purā kṛtam ||
Bhishma said: “Just as flowers and fruits appear on trees in their own season without being prodded or forced, so deeds done in the past do not overstep their appointed time for yielding results. The moral force of action ripens inevitably, and when its proper moment arrives, none can escape its fruition.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Karma bears fruit inevitably in its own appointed time. Just as natural processes like flowering and fruiting occur when the season arrives, past actions mature into results when their time comes; one cannot hasten, delay, or evade that fruition.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right understanding, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira through analogies. Here he uses the image of flowers and fruits appearing naturally to explain the certainty and timing of karmic results.