Shloka 7
Śānti-parva 206: Guṇa-hetu Moha, Kāma-krodha Chain, Indriya-utpatti, and Nirodha
फल कर्मात्मकं विद्यात् कर्म ज्ञेयात्मकं तथा । ज्ञेयं ज्ञानात्मकं विद्याज्ज्ञानं सदसदात्मकम्
phalaṁ karmātmakaṁ vidyāt karma jñeyātmakaṁ tathā | jñeyaṁ jñānātmakaṁ vidyāj jñānaṁ sad-asad-ātmakam ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “Dapat maunawaan na ang ‘bunga’ ay may likas na anyo ng gawa; at ang gawa naman ay may likas na anyo ng dapat malaman (ang larangan ng mga bagay na nalalaman). Ang dapat malaman ay may likas na anyo ng kaalaman. Ang kaalaman mismo ay may dalawang mukha—nakaugnay sa umiiral at sa di-umiiral (sanhi at bunga; pagpapakita at ang naunang kalagayan nito). Kaya, sa pagsubaybay mula sa bunga pabalik sa gawa at sa kaalaman, makikita kung paanong ang pananagutang moral at ang wastong pag-unawa ay magkakabigkis.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a chain of dependence: results are rooted in actions; actions operate within the domain of the knowable (objects/fields that can be apprehended); the knowable is grounded in knowledge; and knowledge relates to both sat and asat (often read as cause and effect, or manifest and unmanifest). Ethically, it implies that transforming one’s outcomes requires refining action, and refining action requires right understanding.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and higher wisdom after the war. Here he shifts into a philosophical analysis, explaining how action, its fruits, and the structure of knowing interrelate, guiding the listener toward discernment and responsible conduct.