Shloka 4

Nakula’s Adaptive Counsel to Kṛṣṇa in the Kuru Assembly (उद्योगपर्व, अध्याय ७८)

Devanagari script

तत्र चापि ध्रुवं पश्येच्छोषणं दैवकारितम्‌ । जिस खेतमें जुताई और सिंचाई की गयी है, वहाँ यह पुरुषार्थ ही किया गया है; परंतु वहाँ भी दैववश सूखा पड़ गया, यह निश्चितरूपसे देखा जाता है। [अतः पुरुषार्थकी सफलताके लिये प्रारब्धकी अनुकूलता आवश्यक है] ।।

Transliteration

tatra cāpi dhruvaṁ paśyec choṣaṇaṁ daivakāritam | tad idaṁ niścitaṁ buddhyā pūrvar api mahātmabhiḥ ||

Translation

Even there, one can certainly observe that drought—brought about by fate—may occur. In a field that has been properly ploughed and irrigated, human effort has indeed been fully applied; yet, even then, dryness can arise by the force of destiny. Therefore, for effort to bear fruit, the favorability of what is allotted by fate (prārabdha) is also necessary—this has been firmly concluded by the great-souled sages of old.

Word by Word

• {'tatra': 'there

• in that case', 'ca api': 'and even

• even also', 'dhruvam': 'certainly

• surely', 'paśyet': 'one would see

• one can observe', 'śoṣaṇam': 'drying up

• desiccation', 'daiva-kāritam': 'caused by fate/divine dispensation', 'tat idam': 'this very (point)', 'niścitam': 'ascertained

• firmly determined', 'buddhyā': 'by understanding

• with discernment', 'pūrvaiḥ api': 'even by the ancients

• by those of earlier times', 'mahātmabhiḥ': 'by great-souled persons

Speaker

अर्जुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• daiva (fate/divine dispensation)
• kṣetra (field) (implied by the agricultural illustration)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that while human effort (puruṣārtha) is necessary—like ploughing and irrigating a field—results are not guaranteed, because fate or prior karmic allotment (daiva/prārabdha) can still obstruct success. Hence, fruition depends on both effort and favorable destiny.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna is articulating a reflective point about causality and outcomes: even when one does everything correctly, adverse destiny can negate results. He supports this with an agricultural analogy to argue that wise people have long recognized the joint role of effort and fate.