Shloka 15
Śaṅkha–Likhita Upākhyāna: Daṇḍa, Confession, and the Purification of Kingship (शङ्ख-लिखितोपाख्यानम्)
दैवेनाभ्याहतो राजा कर्मकाले महद्ुते । न साधयति यत् कर्म न तत्राहुरतिक्रमम्
daivenābhyāhato rājā karmakāle mahadute | na sādhayati yat karma na tatrāhur atikramam ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Quand un roi est frappé par le destin au moment même d’agir et ne peut, pour cette raison, mener à bien l’œuvre entreprise, les sages n’y voient pas une transgression. Ils imputent l’échec à la puissance du sort, non à une violation délibérée du devoir.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
If a ruler fails to complete an intended duty because overpowering fate intervenes at the crucial moment, that failure is not judged as a willful breach of dharma; culpability depends on intention and agency, not merely on outcome.
Vaiśampāyana states a general principle used in ethical reasoning: when circumstances attributed to daiva obstruct a king during the time of action, the tradition does not label the resulting non-fulfillment as an atikrama (transgression).