Shloka 18
Haṃsa–Sādhya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dama, Kṣamā and the Discipline of Speech
“मनुष्य पूर्वजन्मके कर्मोंके अनुसार ही भोजन, वस्त्र तथा अपने माता-पिताके द्वारा संग्रह किया हुआ धन प्राप्त करता है। संसारमें जो कुछ मिलता है, वह पूर्वकृत कर्मोंके फलके अतिरिक्त कोई वस्तु नहीं है' ।।
manuṣyaḥ pūrvajanmake karmānusāreṇaiva bhojanaṃ vastraṃ tathā mātā-pitṛbhyāṃ saṃgṛhītaṃ dhanaṃ prāpnoti | saṃsāre yad kiñcid labhyate tat pūrvakṛta-karmaphalād anyā na vastūti ||
dhātrā vihita-bhakṣyāṇi sarva-bhūtāni medinīm | loke viparidhāvanti rakṣitāni svakarmabhiḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：人所得饮食衣服，乃至父母所积之财，皆依前生所作之业而来。此世一切所得，无非往昔行为之果。诸有情为自身之业所护，奔走于大地之上；并依造物主所分配、随其定分而得其资养。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
All worldly acquisitions—food, clothing, and even inherited or parental wealth—are ultimately experienced as the results of one’s past actions. Beings strive and roam, but what they actually obtain is the portion allotted by Providence in accordance with their karma.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right understanding after the war, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira a reflective doctrine of karma: human striving occurs, yet outcomes are framed as karmic fruition and the destined allotment set by the Ordainer.