Shloka 11
Adhyāya 241: Guṇa-sṛṣṭi, Kṣetrajña-sākṣitva, and Śama through Ātma-jñāna (गुणसृष्टिः, क्षेत्रज्ञसाक्षित्वं, शमः)
कर्मण: फलमाप्रोति सुखदु:खे भवाभवौ | विद्यया तदवाप्रोति यत्र गत्वा न शोचति
karmaṇaḥ phalam āpnoti sukhaduḥkhe bhavābhavau | vidyayā tad avāpnoti yatra gatvā na śocati ||
Bhīṣma enseigne : Le fruit naturel de l’action est la joie et la peine, et le cycle de l’advenir et du cesser (naissance et mort). Par l’action, l’homme n’obtient que ces résultats conditionnés ; mais par la connaissance véritable, il atteint l’état suprême, où, une fois parvenu, il ne s’afflige plus.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Karma produces finite, dualistic results—pleasure/pain and continued samsaric becoming (birth and death). Liberating knowledge (vidyā) leads to the supreme state beyond these results, where sorrow ceases.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma addresses the listener (Yudhishthira in this section) and contrasts the outcomes of action with the higher attainment gained through knowledge, emphasizing the path toward freedom from grief.