Karma-Phala Rahasya and the Ethics of Dāna (कर्मफल-रहस्यं दानधर्मश्च)
येन येन शरीरेण यद् यत् कर्म करोति यः । तेन तेन शरीरेण तत् तत् फलमुपाश्चुते,मनुष्य जिस-जिस (स्थूल या सूक्ष्म) शरीरसे जो-जो कर्म करता है उसी-उसी शरीरसे उस-उस कर्मका फल भोगता है
yena yena śarīreṇa yad yat karma karoti yaḥ | tena tena śarīreṇa tat tat phalam upāśnute ||
Bhishma berkata: Perbuatan apa pun yang dilakukan seseorang melalui tubuh apa pun—kasar ataupun halus—melalui tubuh itulah ia mengalami buah yang sepadan.
भीष्म उवाच
The verse teaches karma-phala: actions yield corresponding results, and the experiencer of those results is the same embodied agent who performed the actions—whether through a gross physical body or a subtler mode of embodiment.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and ethical law. Here he states a general principle of moral causation: deeds done through a particular embodied condition bring their fruits to be experienced through that same condition.