Shloka 17
Haṃsa–Sādhya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dama, Kṣamā and the Discipline of Speech
भोजनाच्छादने चैव मात्रा पित्रा च संग्रहम् । स्वकृतेनाधिगच्छन्ति लोके नास्त्यकृतं पुरा
bhojanācchādane caiva mātrā pitrā ca saṅgraham | svakṛtenādhigacchanti loke nāsty akṛtaṃ purā ||
Bhīṣma dit : «La nourriture et le vêtement, et aussi les soins et le soutien donnés par la mère et le père—les hommes les obtiennent en ce monde par leurs propres actes. Rien n’échoit à quiconque sans avoir été acquis par l’action ; rien n’est reçu sans cause antérieure.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes karmic causality and personal responsibility: even basic sustenance and the support one receives are connected to one’s own prior actions; nothing comes without a cause or without being earned through karma.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he frames worldly welfare—such as food, clothing, and parental care—as outcomes governed by one’s deeds, reinforcing an ethical worldview of accountability.