Shloka 32
घटोत्कच-कर्णयुद्धम्
Ghaṭotkaca–Karna Combat and the Release of Śakti
दैवं प्रमाणं सर्वस्य सुकृतस्येतरस्य वा | अनन्यकर्म दैवं हि जागर्ति स्वपतामपि,सुकृत हो या दुष्कृत, सबपर दैवका ही अधिकार है; वही उसका फल देनेवाला है। अपना ही पूर्वकृत कर्म दैव है, जो मनुष्योंके सो जानेपर भी जागता रहता है
daivaṁ pramāṇaṁ sarvasya sukṛtasyetarasya vā | ananyakarma daivaṁ hi jāgarti svapatām api ||
Karna said: Fate is the decisive authority over everything—whether one’s deeds are meritorious or otherwise. Indeed, what is called ‘fate’ is none other than one’s own past action; it keeps watch and brings results even when people lie asleep, unaware.
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ‘fate’ (daiva) is the governing power behind outcomes for both good and bad deeds, and that this fate is essentially one’s own past karma—an ever-vigilant moral causality that delivers results regardless of one’s awareness.
In the midst of the Drona Parva’s war-time counsel and argumentation, Karna frames events through the lens of daiva/karma, asserting that outcomes are ultimately determined by the ripening of prior actions, not merely by present effort or intention.