Shloka 10
पाण्डोः प्रेतकार्य-सम्पादनम्
Pāṇḍu’s Funeral Rites and Public Mourning
न विधिं ग्रसते प्रज्ञा प्रज्ञां तु ग्रसते विधि: । विधिपर्यागतानर्थान् प्राज्ञो न प्रतिपद्यते,मृगने कहा--राजन्! जो मनुष्य काम और क्रोधसे घिरे हुए, बुद्धिशून्य तथा पापोंमें संलग्न रहनेवाले हैं, वे भी ऐसे क्रूरतापूर्ण कर्मको त्याग देते हैं। बुद्धि प्रारब्धको नहीं ग्रसती (नहीं लाँध सकती) प्रारब्ध ही बुद्धिको अपना ग्रास बना लेता है (भ्रष्ट कर देता है)। प्रारब्धसे प्राप्त होनेवाले पदार्थोंको बुद्धिमान् पुरुष भी नहीं जान पाता
na vidhiṁ grasate prajñā prajñāṁ tu grasate vidhiḥ | vidhi-paryāgatān arthān prājño na pratipadyate ||
The deer said: “O King, even people hemmed in by desire and anger—bereft of discernment and given to sin—still refrain from certain acts of cruelty. For wisdom cannot overtake what is ordained; rather, destiny overpowers and consumes wisdom itself. Even a truly intelligent person cannot fully anticipate or master the outcomes that arrive through the force of fate.”
मृग उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses the limits of human intelligence before vidhi (what is ordained): wisdom cannot always override destiny, and even the wise may fail to foresee or control outcomes that come by fate. It also implies an ethical baseline—if even the deluded can abandon certain cruelties, one should all the more restrain oneself.
A deer addresses a king and offers moral counsel. The deer reflects on human conduct and the power of fate, warning that outcomes governed by vidhi can confound even the wise, and urging restraint from cruel action.