Shloka 11
बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency
Mahābhārata 12.217
संयोगलक्षणोत्पत्ति: कर्मणा गृह्ते यथा । करणै: कर्मनिर्वृत्ति: कर्ता यद् यद् विचेष्टते । कीर्त्यते शब्दसंज्ञाभि: को5हमेषो5प्यसाविति
saṃyoga-lakṣaṇotpattiḥ karmaṇā gṛhyate yathā | karaṇaiḥ karma-nirvṛttiḥ kartā yad yad viceṣṭate | kīrtyate śabda-saṃjñābhiḥ ko’ham eṣo’py asāv iti ||
毗湿摩曰：由普拉克里蒂与普鲁沙相合而显其相，动与不动之世界遂得生起；此理当由业行及其果报而知。凭借诸器官——心与诸根——具身者造作诸业；凡其所作之业，即以此业而称其为作者。故世人以世俗名言——“谁？”“我”“此”“彼”——来描述他，在行为之域中为其安立身份与责任。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Identity as “doer” is a conventional designation arising in the domain of karma: when consciousness (Puruṣa) is conjoined with nature (Prakṛti), actions occur through instruments like mind and senses, and on that basis one is labeled “I/this/that” and held to agency.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation-oriented ethics and philosophy, Bhīṣma explains to the inquirer how the world-process and personal identity are understood through action, and how linguistic labels of selfhood track performed deeds rather than an ultimate, independent agent.