Shloka 22
Dharma-śaṅkā-nivāraṇa: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Response on Karma-Phala and Trust in Dharma
यद्धायं पुरुष: किंचित् कुरुते वै शुभाशुभम् । तद् धातृविहितं विद्धि पूर्वकर्मफलोदयम्,पुरुष यहाँ जो कुछ भी शुभ-अशुभ कर्म करता है, उसे ईश्वरद्वारा विहित उसके पूर्वकर्मोके फलका उदय समझिये
yad dhāyaṃ puruṣaḥ kiṃcit kurute vai śubhāśubham | tad dhātṛvihitaṃ viddhi pūrvakarmaphalodayam ||
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: “Cuanto hace una persona—sea propicio o funesto—sábelo: está ordenado por el Dispensador, como maduración del fruto de las obras pasadas. La acción presente se inscribe en la causalidad moral: los resultados éticos no son azar, sino que maduran según el mérito y la falta anteriores.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a person’s present good or bad actions and their moral trajectory are deeply conditioned by the ripening of past karma, understood as being arranged by the cosmic Ordainer (dhātṛ). It emphasizes moral causality: outcomes and impulses are not accidental but arise from prior deeds.
Yudhiṣṭhira is articulating a reflective, philosophical stance within the Vana Parva context, interpreting human conduct through the lens of destiny and karmic fruition. He frames events and choices as manifestations of earlier actions, offering an ethical explanation for why beings act and experience results.