Shloka 17
Haṃsa–Sādhya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dama, Kṣamā and the Discipline of Speech
भोजनाच्छादने चैव मात्रा पित्रा च संग्रहम् । स्वकृतेनाधिगच्छन्ति लोके नास्त्यकृतं पुरा
bhojanācchādane caiva mātrā pitrā ca saṅgraham | svakṛtenādhigacchanti loke nāsty akṛtaṃ purā ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Pagkain at pananamit, at maging ang pag-aaruga at pagtangkilik ng ina at ama—nakakamit ng tao sa daigdig sa pamamagitan ng sarili niyang mga gawa. Walang dumarating kaninuman nang hindi pinaghirapan ng pagkilos; walang natatanggap na walang naunang sanhi.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes karmic causality and personal responsibility: even basic sustenance and the support one receives are connected to one’s own prior actions; nothing comes without a cause or without being earned through karma.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he frames worldly welfare—such as food, clothing, and parental care—as outcomes governed by one’s deeds, reinforcing an ethical worldview of accountability.