Shloka 37
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
यथाकृता च भूतेषु प्राप्पते सुखदु:खिता । गृहीत्वा जायते जन्तुर्दु:खानि च सुखानि च
yathākṛtā ca bhūteṣu prāpyate sukhaduḥkhitā | gṛhītvā jāyate jantur duḥkhāni ca sukhāni ca ||
Bhīṣma disse: Assim como alguém agiu para com os seres vivos, assim alcança uma condição correspondente de felicidade ou sofrimento. A criatura nasce trazendo consigo (os resultados de seus atos) e, por isso, vem a experimentar tanto dores quanto prazeres.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches karmic moral causality: the happiness and suffering one experiences are shaped by how one has acted toward other beings; the embodied self is born bearing the results of past deeds and therefore encounters both pleasure and pain.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by explaining why beings undergo mixed experiences in life—because they are born carrying the consequences of prior actions.