Shloka 38
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
जीव अपने पूर्वजन्मके कर्मोंके अनुसार दुःख-सुखको लेकर ही जन्म ग्रहण करता है। सभी प्राणियोंमें सुख और दु:ःखका भोग कर्मानुसार ही प्राप्त होता है ।। न कर्मणा पितु: पुत्र: पिता वा पुत्रकर्मणा | मार्गेणान्येन गच्छन्ति बद्धा: सुकृतदुष्कृतैः,पिताके कर्मसे पुत्रका और पुत्रके कर्मसे पिताका कोई सम्बन्ध नहीं है। अपने-अपने पाप-पुण्यके बन्धनमें बँधे हुए जीव कर्मानुसार विभिन्न मार्गसे जाते हैं
na karmaṇā pituḥ putraḥ pitā vā putrakarmaṇā | mārgeṇānyena gacchanti baddhāḥ sukṛtaduṣkṛtaiḥ ||
Bhīṣma disse: Um filho não é determinado pelos feitos do pai, nem um pai é moldado pelos feitos do filho. Presos ao próprio mérito e demérito, os seres partem por caminhos diferentes conforme o karma individual. Assim, felicidade e sofrimento seguem as ações de cada um, não as de outrem—por mais estreito que seja o vínculo.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Each being inherits and experiences the results of their own karma; moral and existential outcomes are not transferred between father and son. Merit and demerit bind individuals and determine their respective post-death trajectories.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira that responsibility for happiness, suffering, and one’s course after death lies with one’s own actions, not with the deeds of relatives.