Shloka 13
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 31 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Instructions to Sañjaya
Peace Appeal and Five-Village Proposal
परप्रयुक्त: पुरुषो विचेष्टते सूत्रप्रोता दारुमयीव योषा । इमं दृष्टवा नियमं पाण्डवस्य मन्ये परं कर्म दैवं मनुष्यात्
sañjaya uvāca | paraprayuktaḥ puruṣo viceṣṭate sūtraprotā dārumayīva yoṣā | imaṃ dṛṣṭvā niyamaṃ pāṇḍavasya manye paraṃ karma daivaṃ manuṣyāt, mahārāja ||
Sañjaya dit : «L’homme n’agit que poussé par un autre, tel une marionnette de bois, enfilée sur des cordes, qui bouge et danse au tiraillement de ses fils. Voyant cette contrainte si dure peser sur le Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira), ô grand roi, j’en suis venu à penser que le destin — l’ordonnance divine — l’emporte sur l’effort humain.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human beings often appear to act as if pulled by unseen strings—by divine ordinance and the momentum of past actions—so that destiny (daiva) can seem stronger than personal effort (puruṣakāra). The verse frames a tension between moral agency and providential necessity.
Sañjaya, reporting to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, reflects on the Pāṇḍava Yudhiṣṭhira’s constrained situation and suffering. Using the image of a string-controlled wooden puppet, he suggests that events are being driven by forces beyond mere human choice, implying the dominance of daiva in the unfolding crisis.