Shloka 16
Haṃsa–Sādhya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dama, Kṣamā and the Discipline of Speech
स्वयमुत्पद्यते जन्तु: स्वयमेव विवर्धते । सुखदु:खे तथा मृत्युं स्वयमेवाधिगच्छति,प्राणी स्वयं जन्म लेता है, स्वयं बढ़ता है और स्वयं ही सुख-दुःख तथा मृत्युको प्राप्त होता है”
svayam utpadyate jantuḥ svayam eva vivardhate | sukha-duḥkhe tathā mṛtyuṁ svayam evādhigacchati ||
毗湿摩说道：众生随其自身之程而生，随其自身之程而长；同样也随其自身业行所塑之命运而受乐受苦，乃至遭逢死亡。此教诲昭示个人的道德担当：生命之果报终究不能推卸于他人。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches moral and existential accountability: birth, growth, experiences of pleasure and pain, and the encounter with death are to be understood as outcomes that the individual being must undergo in accordance with its own karmic trajectory, rather than blaming external agents.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right understanding after the war. Here he emphasizes a reflective, ethical stance: recognizing one’s own role in shaping and bearing life’s results, which supports steadiness, humility, and responsible conduct.