Shloka 37
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
अज्ञानाद् ब्राह्मणं हत्वा स्पृष्टोे बालवधेन च | वैशम्पायनविप्रर्षि: कि दैवेन न वारित:
ajñānād brāhmaṇaṁ hatvā spṛṣṭo bāla-vadhena ca | vaiśampāyana-viprarṣiḥ kiṁ daivena na vāritaḥ ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Habiendo, por ignorancia, dado muerte a un brāhmaṇa y quedando además manchado por el pecado de matar a un niño, ¿por qué el brahmán‑vidente Vaiśampāyana no fue contenido por el destino (daiva)? ¿Por qué la suerte no le impidió alcanzar el cielo?»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse raises a dharmic problem: if grave acts like Brahmin-killing and child-killing occurred (even through ignorance), how can destiny allow the agent to reach heaven? It invites reflection on how intention (ajñāna), expiation, and divine order (daiva) interact in moral accountability.
Bhīṣma poses a pointed question about the sage Vaiśampāyana: despite being implicated in severe sins—Brahmin-slaying and child-slaying—why did daiva not obstruct him? The question functions as a prompt for a subsequent explanation about karmic causality, intention, and the workings of dharma.