Shloka 37
फलवन्ति च कर्माणि व्युष्टिमन्ति ध्रुवाणि च । विगुणानि च पश्यन्ति तथानैकान्तिकानि च
phalavanti ca karmāṇi vyuṣṭimanti dhruvāṇi ca | viguṇāni ca paśyanti tathānaikāntikāni ca
Kapila said: They observe that actions bear results; that their consequences unfold in due course and are certain. Yet they also see that some actions are defective in quality, and that outcomes are not always absolute or uniform—often depending on conditions and context.
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kapila highlights a nuanced view of karma: actions do yield results and often with certainty, but the moral and practical outcome is not always absolute—defects in the action and surrounding conditions can alter how, when, and in what form the fruit appears.
In the Śānti Parva’s philosophical discourse, Kapila is instructing his interlocutor(s) about the nature of action and consequence, emphasizing both the general reliability of karmic fruition and the observed variability caused by quality, intention, and circumstances.