Shloka 8
उशनसः (शुक्रस्य) चरितम् — The Account of Uśanā (Śukra): Yoga, Grievance, and Pacification
नेशेडयं सततं देही नृपते पुण्यपापयो: । तत एव समुत्थेन तमसा रुध्यतेडपि च
bhīṣma uvāca | neśeḍayaṃ satataṃ dehī nṛpate puṇyapāpayoḥ | tata eva samutthena tamasā rudhyate 'pi ca, nareśvara |
毗湿摩说道：“大王啊，具身之我并非时时都是功德与罪业（及其果报）的自主之主。相反，众人之主啊，它被从那些行为本身生起的黑暗所遮蔽并束缚——那是一团遮障的业习印痕——于是它在那覆盖之下受乐受苦。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The jīva (embodied self) is not fully autonomous in experiencing pleasure and pain; it is constrained by the karmic impressions arising from merit and sin, which function like tamas (ignorance/darkness) that veils discernment and drives experience.
In the Shanti Parva dialogue, Bhishma instructs King Yudhishthira on dharma and the workings of karma. Here he explains how actions generate obscuring impressions that bind the embodied self to the experience of sukha and duḥkha.