Shloka 1
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
/ अपन ह< बक। है २ >> षष्ठो5 ध्याय: दैवकी अपेक्षा पुरुषार्थकी श्रेष्ठताका वर्णन युधिछिर उवाच पितामह महाप्राज्ञ सर्वशास्त्रविशारद । दैवे पुरुषकारे च किंस्वित् श्रेष्ठतरं भवेत्,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--सम्पूर्ण शास्त्रोंके विशेषज्ञ महाप्राज्ञ पितामह! दैव और पुरुषार्थमें कौन श्रेष्ठ है?
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | Pitāmaha mahāprājña sarvaśāstraviśārada | Daive puruṣakāre ca kiṃsvid śreṣṭhataraṃ bhavet ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „O Großvater, du überaus Weise und in allen Śāstras bewandert: Was ist wahrhaft höher—daiva (Schicksal, göttliche Fügung) oder puruṣakāra (menschliche Anstrengung)?“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a central ethical-philosophical inquiry in the Mahābhārata: whether moral and practical outcomes are governed chiefly by daiva (destiny/divine ordinance) or by puruṣakāra (human effort). It sets up a discussion on responsibility, agency, and how dharma is pursued amid uncertainty.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira approaches the Grandsire Bhīṣma—renowned for wisdom and mastery of śāstra—and asks him to adjudicate a debated question: which is superior, destiny or personal effort.