Shloka 37
Śrī–Indra–Bali Saṃvāda: The Departure and Fourfold Placement of Lakṣmī
अपि हायमिहैवान्यै: प्राक् कृतैर्द:खितो भवेत् । सुखितो दुःखितो वापि दृश्यादृश्यविनिर्णय:
api hāyam ihaivānyaiḥ prāk kṛtair duḥkhito bhavet | sukhito duḥkhito vāpi dṛśyādṛśya-vinirṇayaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Kung gayon—na ang gumagawa ng gawa ay hindi siya ring makararanas ng bunga nito sa huli—kung magkakaganito, sa mundong ito mismo ang isang tao ay maaaring magdusa dahil sa masasamang gawa ng iba noong nakaraan, o maging masaya o magdusa dahil sa kilos ng iba. Sa gayong kalagayan, guguho rin ang pagkakaiba ng ‘nakikita’ at ‘di-nakikita’: ang nakita sa naunang sandali ay magiging di-nakikita sa kasalukuyan, at ang dating di-nakikita ay lilitaw na nakikita ngayon.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma argues that if the doer of an action and the experiencer of its fruit were different, moral causality would break down: anyone could suffer or enjoy due to others’ deeds, and the coherent determination of ‘seen’ versus ‘unseen’ (manifest vs. unmanifest) would become unstable.
In the Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Bhīṣma is addressing a doctrinal objection about karma—whether the agent at the time of action is the same as the one who later experiences the result—and he refutes the view by showing its unacceptable consequences for ethical accountability and epistemic distinctions.