Shloka 17
Yoga-kṛtya (योककृत्य) — Vyāsa on Sense-Restraint, Obstacles, and Brahman-Realization
हिंस्राहिंस्रे मृदुक्ूरे धर्माधमावृतानृते । तद्धाविता: प्रपद्यन्ते तस्मात् तत् तस्य रोचते
hiṃsrāhiṃsre mṛdukrūre dharmādharmāvṛtānṛte | taddhāvitāḥ prapadyante tasmāt tat tasya rocate ||
毗耶娑阐明：人的趋向由其反复所择而成——或暴力或不害，或柔和或残酷，或正法或非法，或真实或虚妄。为这些根深蒂固的习性所驱使，他们又投向同类的行为；因此，一个人所培植的东西，终会令其觉得悦意而自然——即便在后世亦然。
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Repeated choices create deep impressions (saṃskāras) that shape one’s likes, character, and conduct; thus a person naturally gravitates toward the same moral patterns—violence or non-violence, truth or falsehood—even across births.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Vyāsa states a general principle of ethical causality: cultivated dispositions drive future behavior, explaining why people persist in certain virtues or vices.