Shloka 37
Śrī–Indra–Bali Saṃvāda: The Departure and Fourfold Placement of Lakṣmī
अपि हायमिहैवान्यै: प्राक् कृतैर्द:खितो भवेत् । सुखितो दुःखितो वापि दृश्यादृश्यविनिर्णय:
api hāyam ihaivānyaiḥ prāk kṛtair duḥkhito bhavet | sukhito duḥkhito vāpi dṛśyādṛśya-vinirṇayaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“若真如此——即行者并非后来受报者——那么就在此世间，一个人竟可因他人往昔所作恶业而受苦，也可因他人之行而得乐或受苦。如此一来，‘可见’与‘不可见’的分别亦将崩坏：前一刹那所见者，于此刹那成不可见；先前不可见者，今又现为可见。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma argues that if the doer of an action and the experiencer of its fruit were different, moral causality would break down: anyone could suffer or enjoy due to others’ deeds, and the coherent determination of ‘seen’ versus ‘unseen’ (manifest vs. unmanifest) would become unstable.
In the Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Bhīṣma is addressing a doctrinal objection about karma—whether the agent at the time of action is the same as the one who later experiences the result—and he refutes the view by showing its unacceptable consequences for ethical accountability and epistemic distinctions.