Shloka 18
Adhyāya 290: Sāṃkhya-vidhi, Deha-doṣa, Guṇa-vicāra, and Mokṣa-gati
Bhīṣma–Yudhiṣṭhira Dialogue
कदाचित् सुकृतं तात कूटस्थमिव तिष्ठति । मज्जमानस्य संसारे यावद् दुःखाद विमुच्यते
kadācit sukṛtaṃ tāta kūṭastham iva tiṣṭhati | majjamānasya saṃsāre yāvad duḥkhād vimucyate ||
Por vezes, meu filho, o mérito acumulado permanece firme — como algo estabelecido e inabalável — até que aquele que afunda no saṃsāra seja enfim libertado do sofrimento.
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Merit (sukṛta) does not necessarily yield immediate visible results; it can remain steady and latent, and when the time is ripe it becomes the sustaining force that helps a person overwhelmed by worldly existence move toward release from suffering.
Parāśara is instructing an addressed listener (“tāta”), explaining how the fruits of past virtuous actions can persist like an immovable support and eventually aid one who is drowning in saṃsāra to become free from duḥkha.