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 ।।
na karmaṇā pituḥ putraḥ pitā vā putrakarmaṇā | mārgeṇānyena gacchanti baddhāḥ sukṛtaduṣkṛtaiḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: Ang anak ay hindi hinuhubog (ang kapalaran) ng mga gawa ng ama, at ang ama nama’y hindi hinuhubog ng mga gawa ng anak. Nakagapos sa sariling kabutihan at kasamaan, ang mga nilalang ay umaalis sa magkakaibang landas ayon sa kani-kanilang karma. Kaya ang ligaya at pagdurusa ay sumusunod sa sariling gawa, hindi sa gawa ng iba—gaanuman kalapit ang ugnayan.
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.