Shloka 17
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
कर्मणा स्वनुरक्तानि विरक्तानि च दानव | यथा कर्मविशेषांश्र प्राप्रुवन्ति तथा शूणु,“दनुनन्दन! कर्मसे अनुरक्त और कर्मसे विरक्त होनेवाले प्राणिसमूह जिस प्रकार राग और विरागके हेतुभूत विभिन्न कर्मोको प्राप्त होते हैं, वह सुनो
bhīṣma uvāca | karmaṇā svānuraktāni viraktāni ca dānava | yathā karma-viśeṣāṁś ca prāpnuvanti tathā śṛṇu |
Bhīṣma said: O Dānava, beings become attached or detached according to their deeds. Now listen to how, in accordance with particular kinds of actions, they come to attain the corresponding conditions—those that generate passion and those that generate dispassion.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That attachment and detachment are not random traits but arise from one’s actions: different kinds of karma cultivate corresponding mental dispositions and lead to matching outcomes.
Bhishma addresses a Danava and introduces an explanation of how beings, shaped by specific actions, come to states of passion (raga) or dispassion (viraga), setting up a broader ethical teaching on karma and its results.