Shloka 23
Karma-Phala Rahasya and the Ethics of Dāna (कर्मफल-रहस्यं दानधर्मश्च)
अचोटद्यमानानि यथा पुष्पाणि च फलानि च । स्वकाल नातिवर्तन्ते तथा कर्म पुरा कृतम्
acoṭadyamānāni yathā puṣpāṇi ca phalāni ca | svakālaṃ nātivartante tathā karma purā kṛtam ||
Bhishma dit : «De même que les fleurs et les fruits, sans qu’on les y pousse, ne dépassent pas la saison qui leur est assignée, mais s’épanouissent et mûrissent au moment juste, ainsi l’acte accompli jadis donne inévitablement son fruit lorsque son heure arrive».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Past actions have inevitable consequences, and those results manifest at their proper time; one need not imagine that karma can be avoided simply because its fruit is delayed.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and conduct, he uses a natural analogy—flowers and fruits ripening in season—to explain the certainty and timing of karmic results.