Shloka 21
एतमेव च नैवं च न चोभे नानुभे न च । कर्मस्था विषयं ब्रूयु: सत्त्वस्था: समदर्शिन:,कर्मवादी इस विषयमें यह पुरुषार्थ ही कार्यसाधक है, ऐसा नहीं कहते। ऐसा नहीं है, अर्थात् पुरुषार्थ नहीं, दैव कारण है, यह भी नहीं कहते। दोनों मिलकर कार्यसिद्धिके हेतु हैं, यह भी नहीं कहते और दोनों नहीं हैं, यह भी नहीं कहते हैं। तात्पर्य यह है कि वे इस विषयमें कुछ निश्चय नहीं कर पाते हैं; परंतु जो सत्त्वस्वरूप परमात्मामें स्थित हुए योगी हैं, वे समदर्शी हैं अर्थात् शम (ब्रह्म) को ही कारण मानते हैं
etameva ca naivaṁ ca na cobhe nānubhe na ca | karmasthā viṣayaṁ brūyuḥ sattvasthāḥ samadarśinaḥ ||
Vyāsa said: Those who stand by action speak of this matter in conflicting ways: some say, “This alone (human effort) is the cause”; others say, “Not so—effort is not the cause; fate is.” Some claim that both together bring about success, while others deny both. Thus they fail to reach a settled conclusion. But the yogins established in sattva, who see equally, discern the one underlying reality as the true ground of causation.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Debates about whether success is caused by human effort, fate, both, or neither often remain inconclusive when argued from an action-centered standpoint. The verse points toward a higher, sattva-based yogic vision that sees an underlying, single reality as the true basis behind apparent causes.
Vyāsa is explaining a philosophical dispute about causality—how results arise—and contrasts the conflicting claims of karma-focused speakers with the steadier insight of sattva-established yogins who are described as samadarśin (equal-seeing).