Shloka 17
विधिश्व बलवानत्र पौरुषं तु निरर्थकम् | शक्रतुल्यबला: सर्वे यथावध्यन्त पापडवै:,“इस जगतमें भाग्य ही बलवान है। पुरुषार्थ तो निरर्थक है, क्योंकि आपके सभी पुत्र इन्द्रके तुल्य बलवान होनेपर भी पाण्डवोंके हाथसे मारे गये!”
vidhiś ca balavān atra pauruṣaṁ tu nirarthakam | śakra-tulyabalāḥ sarve yathāvadhyanta pāṇḍavaiḥ ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «En este mundo, el destino (el curso ordenado) es lo más poderoso; el esfuerzo humano, por sí solo, resulta vano. Pues aunque todos tus hijos eran tan fuertes como Indra, aun así fueron abatidos por los Pāṇḍavas».
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the tension between fate (vidhi) and human effort (pauruṣa): even extraordinary prowess may fail when the larger moral-causal order and destined outcome prevail. It cautions against overreliance on strength alone and invites reflection on responsibility, dharma, and the limits of personal power.
Vaiśampāyana comments on the catastrophic end of the Kaurava side: despite being as strong as Indra, the sons of the addressed party were killed by the Pāṇḍavas. The statement functions as a consoling yet sobering explanation of defeat, attributing it to the dominance of fate/ordained outcome rather than lack of valor.