Shloka 22
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
कृत: पुरुषकारस्तु दैवमेवानुवर्तते । न दैवमकृते किंचित् कस्यचिद् दातुमहति,किया हुआ पुरुषार्थ ही दैवका अनुसरण करता है; परंतु पुरुषार्थ न करनेपर दैव किसीको कुछ नहीं दे सकता
kṛtaḥ puruṣakārastu daivamevānuvartate | na daivamakṛte kiñcit kasyacid dātum arhati ||
Bhishma said: “When human effort (purushakāra) has been undertaken, destiny (daiva) follows in its wake. But where no effort is made, destiny is not fit to grant anything to anyone. The teaching is ethical and practical: one must act with resolve and responsibility; only then can what is called ‘fate’ become favorable.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts the primacy of puruṣakāra (human effort): destiny becomes effective only when one acts. Without initiative and work, ‘fate’ cannot be credited with giving results; ethical life requires responsible action rather than fatalism.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he emphasizes that success and divine favor are aligned with deliberate effort, discouraging passivity and reliance on mere destiny.