Shloka 20
शब्दाश्न॒ रूपाणि रसाश्न पुण्या: स्पर्शाश्व गन्धाश्व शुभास्तथैव । नरो न संस्थानगत: प्रभु: स्या- देतत् फलं सिद्धाति कर्मलोके,शब्द, रूप, पवित्र रस, सुखद स्पर्श और सुन्दर गन्ध--ये ही कर्मोके फल हैं; किंतु इस शरीरमें स्थित हुआ मनुष्य इन फलोंको प्राप्त करनेमें समर्थ नहीं है। कर्मोके फलकी प्राप्ति जो उनका फल भोगमनेके लिये प्राप्त शरीरमें होती है, वह दैवाधीन है
śabdāś ca rūpāṇi rasāś ca puṇyāḥ sparśāś ca gandhāś ca śubhās tathaiva | naro na saṃsthānagataḥ prabhuḥ syād etat phalaṃ siddhyati karmaloke ||
Bhīṣma said: “Sound, form, pure tastes, pleasing touch, and delightful fragrance—these are the fruits that actions yield. Yet a human being, though dwelling within a bodily frame, is not fully sovereign in obtaining them. The actual attainment of such results in the world of action—especially the embodiment through which one experiences them—depends upon destiny (daiva).”
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.