Shloka 13
Dharma-śaṅkā-nivāraṇa: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Response on Karma-Phala and Trust in Dharma
यश्न दिष्टपरो लोके यश्चापि हठवादिक: । उभावपि शठावेतौ कर्मबुद्धि: प्रशस्यते,संसारमें जो केवल भाग्यके भरोसे कर्म नहीं करता अर्थात् जो ऐसा मानता है कि पहले जैसा किया है वैसा ही फल अपने-आप ही प्राप्त होगा तथा जो हठवादी है--बिना किसी युक्तिके हठपूर्वक यह मानता है कि कर्म करना अनावश्यक है, जो कुछ मिलना होगा, अपने-आप मिल जायगा, वे दोनों ही मूर्ख हैं। जिसकी बुद्धि कर्म (पुरुषार्थ)-में रुचि रखती है, वही प्रशंसाका पात्र है
yaś ca diṣṭa-paro loke yaś cāpi haṭha-vādikaḥ | ubhāv api śaṭhāv etau karma-buddhiḥ praśasyate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “In this world, both the man who relies solely on fate and the man who is obstinately dogmatic are misguided. One thinks, ‘Whatever I did before will automatically yield its result, so there is no need to act now’; the other, without sound reasoning, insists that effort is unnecessary and that whatever is to be obtained will come of itself. Both are deluded. The person whose understanding is oriented toward action—toward purposeful human effort—is the one worthy of praise.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Neither fatalistic passivity nor stubborn, unreasoned dogma is commendable; the praiseworthy stance is an intelligent commitment to purposeful action (karma) guided by discernment.
Yudhiṣṭhira is articulating an ethical principle during the forest-exile discourse: he critiques two extremes—dependence on destiny and obstinate denial of effort—and upholds practical, responsible exertion as the proper path.