Shloka 20
प्रजापतयः देवगणाश्च दिशि-दिशि स्थिताः ऋषयः
Prajāpatis, Deva-Groups, and the Ṛṣis Assigned to the Directions
शब्दाश्न॒ रूपाणि रसाश्न पुण्या: स्पर्शाश्व गन्धाश्व शुभास्तथैव । नरो न संस्थानगत: प्रभु: स्या- देतत् फलं सिद्धाति कर्मलोके
śabdāś ca rūpāṇi rasāś ca puṇyāḥ sparśāś ca gandhāś ca śubhās tathaiva | naro na saṃsthānagataḥ prabhuḥ syād etat phalaṃ siddhyati karmaloke ||
毗湿摩说道：“声音、形色、清净之味、悦意之触与芬芳之香——这些皆是业行所结之果。然而人虽住于身躯之中，却并非全然自主，能随意得之。于业行之世，诸果之真正成就——尤其是那使人得以受用诸果的身受——皆系于天命（daiva）。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sensory enjoyments (sound, form, taste, touch, smell) are karmic results, but an embodied person is not an absolute controller over obtaining them; the fruition of karma—especially the body and circumstances through which one experiences results—depends on daiva (destiny/divine dispensation).
In Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on the nature of karma and its results, emphasizing the limits of human control and the role of daiva in the actual experience of karmic fruits.