Shloka 18
अतः: पर प्रवक्ष्यामि लोकानां कर्मसाक्षिण:
ataḥ paraṃ pravakṣyāmi lokānāṃ karmasākṣiṇaḥ
毗湿摩说道：“因此，我将叙述那些作为诸世业行之见证者的存在。他们虽不可见，却恒常观照一切众生的吉凶善恶之业，并洞悉祭祀（yajña）、布施（dāna）与功德（sukṛta）的真实义。其名为：死（Mṛtyu）、时（Kāla）、毗湿毗天众（Viśvedevas），以及具形之祖灵父神（Pitṛs）。此外，行苦行的牟尼与已臻成就（siddha）、专志于苦行与解脱（mokṣa）的大圣仙，也以慈惠之目遍观世间。凡人若诵念并称扬其名，皆得吉祥之果报。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions are not morally private: unseen cosmic principles and divine/ancestral beings (and also realized sages) continually witness beings’ good and bad deeds. Remembering and honoring these witnesses—especially through name-recitation—supports ethical living and yields auspicious results.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he introduces a set of ‘witnesses of karma’—Mṛtyu, Kāla, the Viśvedevas, and the Pitṛs—and adds that ascetics and perfected seers also watch the world with goodwill, granting benefits to those who praise them.