Shloka 36
Śrī–Indra–Bali Saṃvāda: The Departure and Fourfold Placement of Lakṣmī
एवं सति च का प्रीतिर्दानविद्यातपोबलै: । यदस्याचरितं कर्म सर्वमन्यत् प्रपद्यते,यदि ऐसी ही बात है, तब दान, विद्या, तपस्या और बलसे किसीको क्या प्रसन्नता होगी? क्योंकि उसका किया हुआ सारा कर्म दूसरेको ही अपना फल प्रदान करेगा (अर्थात् दान करते समय जो दाता है, वह क्षणिक विज्ञानवादके अनुसार फल-भोगकालमें नहीं रह जाता, अतः पुण्य या पाप एक करता है और उसका फल दूसरा भोगता है)
evaṁ sati ca kā prītir dāna-vidyā-tapo-balaiḥ | yad asyācaritaṁ karma sarvam anyat prapadyate ||
Bhishma said: “If this is so, what satisfaction could anyone find in charity, learning, austerity, or strength? For if all the deeds a person performs end up yielding their results to someone else, then the very basis of moral effort collapses—one acts, yet another would reap the fruit.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma argues that if the fruits of one’s actions could be enjoyed by someone other than the doer, then ethical striving—charity, learning, austerity, and strength—would lose its meaning, because moral responsibility requires that the agent’s deeds connect to the agent’s results.
In Shanti Parva’s philosophical discussions, Bhishma challenges a view that implies discontinuity of the person (or transfer of karmic results). He points out the practical and ethical absurdity: if the doer does not remain connected to the fruit, then praise/blame and motivation for dharmic conduct become incoherent.