Shloka 23
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
यथा स्थानान्यनित्यानि दूृश्यन्ते दैवतेष्वपि । कथं कर्म विना दैवं स्थास्यति स्थापयिष्यति
yathā sthānāny anityāni dṛśyante daivateṣv api | kathaṁ karma vinā daivaṁ sthāsyati sthāpayiṣyati ||
Dijo Bhishma: «Así como incluso entre los dioses se ve que sus puestos y dignidades—los de Indra y otros—son impermanentes, ¿cómo podría el “destino” (daiva) mantenerse firme sin la acción (karma)? ¿Y cómo podría mantener firmes a los demás?»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma argues that ‘daiva’ (fate/divine allotment) is not an independent force: stability and attainment—even of exalted stations—depend on karma (one’s deeds/merit). Since even divine offices are impermanent, only sustained right action can uphold one’s condition and support the order that ‘fate’ is thought to guarantee.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he challenges a fatalistic view by pointing to the observable impermanence of even the gods’ positions, using that as evidence that action and merit are the real supports behind what people call ‘fate’.