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 ||
वैशम्पायन बोले—“जब कोई राजा कर्म-काल में दैव से आहत होकर जिस कार्य को सिद्ध नहीं कर पाता, तो ज्ञानीजन उसे धर्म-उल्लंघन नहीं कहते। वह असफलता प्रबल भाग्य के कारण मानी जाती है, न कि कर्तव्य-भंग से।”
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).