Shloka 18
न हि ककश्चित् क्वचिद् राजन् दिष्टं प्रतिनिवर्तते । दण्डशस्त्रकृतं पापं पुरुषे तन्न विद्यते
na hi kaścit kvacid rājan diṣṭaṃ pratinivartate | daṇḍaśastrakṛtaṃ pāpaṃ puruṣe tan na vidyate ||
Wahai Raja, tak seorang pun di mana pun dapat membalikkan apa yang telah ditetapkan oleh takdir. Karena itu, dosa yang timbul dari hukuman dan senjata tidak dapat semata-mata dibebankan pada diri seseorang seolah-olah hanya dialah penyebabnya.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vyāsa emphasizes the overpowering force of diṣṭa (what is ordained) and uses it to qualify personal blame: when violence occurs through the instruments of rule—punishment and weapons—the resulting pāpa is not straightforwardly assigned to an individual as purely personal guilt, since larger forces (including destiny and the demands of governance) are at play.
In Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse on dharma after the war, Vyāsa addresses a king and frames a moral argument about action, fate, and culpability—specifically discussing how acts connected with royal punishment and warfare relate to sin and responsibility.