Shloka 11
बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency
Mahābhārata 12.217
संयोगलक्षणोत्पत्ति: कर्मणा गृह्ते यथा । करणै: कर्मनिर्वृत्ति: कर्ता यद् यद् विचेष्टते । कीर्त्यते शब्दसंज्ञाभि: को5हमेषो5प्यसाविति
saṃyoga-lakṣaṇotpattiḥ karmaṇā gṛhyate yathā | karaṇaiḥ karma-nirvṛttiḥ kartā yad yad viceṣṭate | kīrtyate śabda-saṃjñābhiḥ ko’ham eṣo’py asāv iti ||
प्रकृती आणि पुरुष यांच्या संयोगातून स्थावर-जंगम जगताची उत्पत्ती होते; ती कर्म व कर्मफलांद्वारे ओळखली जाते. हा देही मन व इंद्रिये या करणांनी कर्म करतो; जो-जो कर्म तो करतो, त्या-त्या कर्माचा तो कर्ता म्हणवतो. ‘कोण?’, ‘मी’, ‘हे’ आणि ‘ते’—अशा शब्द-संज्ञांनी व्यवहारात त्याचेच वर्णन केले जाते.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Identity as “doer” is a conventional designation arising in the domain of karma: when consciousness (Puruṣa) is conjoined with nature (Prakṛti), actions occur through instruments like mind and senses, and on that basis one is labeled “I/this/that” and held to agency.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation-oriented ethics and philosophy, Bhīṣma explains to the inquirer how the world-process and personal identity are understood through action, and how linguistic labels of selfhood track performed deeds rather than an ultimate, independent agent.