Neither in the sky, nor in the midst of the ocean, nor entering a mountain cleft, can one find a place in the world where one is free from the consequences of evil.

Na antalikkhe na samuddamajjhe — neither in the sky nor in the midst of the ocean: the search for a place to escape the consequences of one’s actions is universally human. Buddhist karma affirms that such a place does not exist.

Na pabbatānaṃ vivaraṃ pavissa — nor entering a mountain cleft: the image of the cave or cleft as refuge is concrete: the ascetic who hides in the mountain, the criminal who flees to the forests. No physical hiding place is sufficient.

Na vijjatī so jagatippadeso — no such place can be found: jagatippadeso is any place in the world. The universality is absolute: no place in the cosmos (sky, ocean, mountain) offers refuge from karmic consequences.

The teaching is that karma is not an external entity that pursues the guilty but the natural continuity of tendencies formed by actions. There is no “place” to go because the tendencies go with one wherever one goes.