Shloka 28
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
कृतं चाप्यकृतं किंचित् कृते कर्मणि सिद्ध्यति | सुकृतं दुष्कृतं कर्म न यथार्थ प्रपद्यते
kṛtaṃ cāpy akṛtaṃ kiñcit kṛte karmaṇi siddhyati | sukṛtaṃ duṣkṛtaṃ karma na yathārthaṃ prapadyate ||
Bhīṣma dit : Même ce qui a été accompli peut, dans une certaine mesure, devenir comme non accompli lorsqu’on entreprend un effort plus puissant ; c’est cet effort humain, vigoureux, qui devient efficace et porte son fruit. Ainsi, les actes—méritoires ou fautifs—ne donnent pas toujours leurs résultats d’une manière simple et exactement correspondante, car ils peuvent être supplantés ou refaçonnés par un effort présent plus fort.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes the primacy of strong present effort (puruṣārtha): a powerful undertaking can neutralize or eclipse earlier actions, so the fruits of good or bad deeds may not manifest in a simple, one-to-one manner.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and moral causality. Here he explains how outcomes depend not only on past karma but also on the intensity of current initiative, which can redirect what would otherwise be expected results.