Shloka 21
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
दैवे पुरुषकारे च लोको<यं सम्प्रतिष्ठित: । तत्र दैवं तु विधिना कालयुक्तेन लभ्यते,यह संसार दैव तथा पुरुषार्थपर अवलम्बित है। इनमें दैव तभी सुलभ (सफल) होता है, जब समयपर उद्योग किया जाय
daive puruṣakāre ca loko 'yaṃ sampratiṣṭhitaḥ | tatra daivaṃ tu vidhinā kālayuktena labhyate ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “This world stands supported by both destiny (the divine factor) and human effort. Yet even what is called ‘destiny’ bears fruit only when one acts in the proper way and at the proper time.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a balanced ethic: life is shaped by both daiva (destiny/providence) and puruṣakāra (human effort). Even ‘destiny’ becomes fruitful only when one follows proper means (vidhi) and acts at the right time (kāla).
Vaiśampāyana, in the course of narrating the Mahābhārata, offers a reflective maxim on causality and conduct—framing events as arising from a conjunction of providence and timely, methodical human initiative.