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 ||
毗湿摩说道：儿子并不因父亲之业而成其命运，父亲也不因儿子之业而被塑成其归宿。众生各自为自身的福德与罪过所系缚，依各自的业而循不同道路离去。因此，乐与苦皆随自作之行，而不随他人之行——纵使亲缘再近亦然。
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.