Shloka 8
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
क्षेत्र पुरुषकारस्तु दैवं बीजमुदाहतम् । क्षेत्रत्रीणसमायोगात् ततः सस्यं समृद्ध्यते,पुरुषार्थ खेत है और दैवको बीज बताया गया है। खेत और बीजके संयोगसे ही अनाज पैदा होता है
kṣetraṁ puruṣakāras tu daivaṁ bījam udāhṛtam | kṣetra-bīja-samāyogāt tataḥ sasyaṁ samṛddhyate ||
Bhishma said: Human effort is like the field, and destiny (the divine factor) is spoken of as the seed. Only when field and seed come together does the crop truly flourish.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that outcomes depend on both puruṣakāra (human effort) and daiva (destiny/divine allotment). Effort provides the ‘field’ where results can grow, while destiny is like the ‘seed’ that enables fruition; prosperity arises from their conjunction.
In Bhishma’s instruction within the Anushasana Parva, he uses an agricultural metaphor—field, seed, and crop—to explain to his listener how moral and practical results in life emerge through the combined operation of personal striving and fate.