Shloka 2
अग्निनाम-वंश-निरूपणम् | Agni-Names and Lineage Enumeration
विधिस्तु बलवान ब्रह्मन् दुस्तरं हि पुरा कृतम् । पुरा कृतस्य पापस्य कर्मदोषो भवत्ययम्
vidhis tu balavān brahman dustaraṁ hi purā kṛtam | purā kṛtasya pāpasya karmadoṣo bhavaty ayam ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “O Brahmin, destiny is indeed powerful; what has been done in the past is hard to overcome. This is the fault inherent in action: from a sin committed long ago, its karmic consequence inevitably arises.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that destiny (vidhi) is forceful because past actions are difficult to undo; wrongdoing committed earlier ripens into consequences, illustrating the inescapable moral causality of karma.
Mārkaṇḍeya, speaking to a Brahmin interlocutor, explains why present suffering or difficulty can persist: it is driven by the momentum of deeds done long ago, especially sinful acts whose karmic results now manifest.