Shloka 1
Adhyāya 222 — ब्रह्मस्थानप्राप्ति: मोक्षधर्मे समत्वव्रतम्
Attaining the Brahman-Station: The Vow of Equanimity in Mokṣadharma
युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--भारत! इस लोकमें जो यह शुभ अथवा अशुभ कर्म होता है
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca—Bhārata! iha loke yaḥ śubho vā aśubho vā karma bhavati, sa puruṣaṃ sukha-duḥkha-rūpaṃ phalaṃ bhoktavye niyunakti eva; kintu puruṣaḥ tasya karmaṇaḥ kartā vā na vā—atra me saṃśayaḥ. ataḥ pitāmaha! tvattaḥ asya tattvayuktaṃ samādhānaṃ śrotum icchāmi.
尤地士提罗说道：“噢，婆罗多啊！在这世间，凡所发生之业——善业或恶业——必然使人被系缚，终须受其果报，或乐或苦。然而我心中犹疑：此业之作者，真是此人自身吗，抑或并非如此？因此，噢，祖父啊，我愿从您处听闻对此疑问合乎真理与原则的裁断。”
युधिष्ठिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a central ethical-philosophical problem: actions yield inevitable results (pleasure/pain), yet the status of the individual as the true agent (kartā) is questioned. It sets up Bhīṣma’s forthcoming explanation on how karma’s fruits operate alongside notions of self, causation, and responsibility.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction setting, Yudhiṣṭhira approaches the elder Bhīṣma (addressed as Pitāmaha) with a doubt about whether a person is genuinely the doer of deeds whose fruits he must experience, and requests a definitive, principled clarification.