Shloka 12
अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था
Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire
मणी वोष्टस्य लम्बेते प्रियौ वत्सतरो मम । शुद्ध हि दैवमेवेदं हठेनैवास्ति पौरुषम्,'यह ऊँट मेरे बछड़ोंको उछाल-उछालकर विषम मार्गसे ही जा रहा है। काकतालीयन्यायसे- (अर्थात् दैवसंयोगसे) इन्हें गर्दनपर उठाकर बुरे मार्गसे ही दौड़ रहा है। इस ऊँटके गलेमें मेरे दोनों प्यारे बछड़े दो मणियोंके समान लटक रहे हैं। यह केवल दैवकी ही लीला है। हठपूर्वक किये हुए पुरुषार्थसे क्या होता है?
maṇī voṣṭasya lambe te priyau vatsatarau mama | śuddhaṃ hi daivam evedaṃ haṭhenaivāsti pauruṣam ||
મારા બંને પ્રિય વાછરડાં આ ઊંટના ગળે બે મણિ જેવા લટકે છે. આ તો નિર્મળ દૈવનું જ કાર્ય છે; માત્ર હઠથી કરેલો પુરુષાર્થ શું કરી શકે?
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the tension between daiva (fate) and pauruṣa (human effort), suggesting that outcomes may be governed by providential circumstance, and that mere stubborn exertion without alignment to conditions and dharma may be ineffective.
A vivid image is used: two calves are carried along, hanging from a camel’s neck like jewels, being taken over rough paths. The speaker interprets this unlikely, accidental-seeming situation as an instance of fate (often framed as kākātālīya—an unexpected coincidence), to illustrate the limits of human control.