Shloka 109
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
नतु पर्यायधर्मेण सिद्धि प्राप्नोति मानव: । मनसैवानुकूलानि धातैव कुरुते वशे,“कोई भी मनुष्य नाममात्रके धर्मद्वारा सिद्धि नहीं पाता, केवल विधाता ही मानसिक संकल्पमात्रसे सबको अपने अनुकूल और अधीन कर लेता है
na tu paryāyadharmeṇa siddhiṁ prāpnoti mānavaḥ | manasaivānukūlāni dhātaiva kurute vaśe |
Sañjaya said: “A person does not attain true success merely by a nominal or conventional show of dharma. It is the Ordainer alone—by the sheer force of intention—who bends events and beings to what is favorable, bringing all under His control.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mere outward or conventional observance of dharma does not guarantee accomplishment; ultimate outcomes are governed by the cosmic Ordainer (dhātā), who can, by sheer resolve, make circumstances favorable and bring all under control.
In the Udyoga Parva’s tense pre-war deliberations, Sañjaya reflects on the limits of human effort and the insufficiency of merely formal righteousness, emphasizing that the final turning of events lies with the higher ordering power.