Shloka 23
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 31 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Instructions to Sañjaya
Peace Appeal and Five-Village Proposal
किमन्यत्र विषयादीश्वराणां यत्र पार्थ: परलोकं सम द्रष्टम् । अत्यक्रामत् स तथा सम्मतः स्या- न्न संशयो नास्ति मनुष्यकार:
sañjaya uvāca | kim anyatra viṣayād īśvarāṇāṃ yatra pārthaḥ paralokaṃ sama draṣṭum | atyakrāmat sa tathā sammataḥ syān na saṃśayo nāsti manuṣyakāraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “What, indeed, lies outside the dominion of the world-ruling powers? For it was in their sphere that Pārtha (Arjuna) once went to behold the heavenly world, crossing beyond the earthly and atmospheric realms. Even though he was honored by those guardians, if suffering still befalls him, then there is no doubt: before the force of destiny, human effort counts for little.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts human effort (puruṣakāra/manuṣyakāra) with the overpowering force of destiny or divine ordinance (daiva): even a hero honored by higher powers may still suffer, showing the limits of personal agency.
Sañjaya reflects on Arjuna’s earlier access to the heavenly realm under the jurisdiction of powerful cosmic rulers; he uses that precedent to argue that if hardship still comes despite such honor, it must be due to destiny rather than any lack of human striving.