Shloka 9

Daiva–Puruṣakāra Saṃvāda

Kṛpa’s Counsel on Destiny and Human Effort

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत सौप्तिकपर्वमें अश्वत्थामाकी मन्त्रणाविषयक पहला अध्याय पूरा हुआ,ताभ्यां सर्वे हि कार्यार्था मनुष्याणां नरर्षभ | विचेष्टन्त: सम दृश्यन्ते निवृत्तास्तु तथैव च नरश्रेष्ठ! मनुष्योंके प्रवृत्ति और निवृत्ति-सम्बन्धी सारे कार्य दैव और पुरुषार्थ दोनोंसे ही सिद्ध होते देखे जाते हैं

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | tābhyāṃ sarve hi kāryārthā manuṣyāṇāṃ nararṣabha | viceṣṭantaḥ sama dṛśyante nivṛttās tu tathaiva ca | narāśreṣṭha! manuṣyōṃ ke pravṛtti aura nivṛtti-sambandhī sāre kārya daiva aura puruṣārtha donoṃ se hī siddha hote dekhe jāte haiṃ |

Translation

Sanjaya said: O bull among men, all human undertakings are seen to be accomplished through both of these—destiny and personal effort. Whether people are actively striving or have withdrawn from action, their outcomes alike appear to arise from the joint working of fate and human endeavor. Thus, neither mere exertion nor mere resignation alone can fully account for what comes to pass.

Word by Word

• {'tābhyām': 'by those two (i.e., by both factors)', 'sarve': 'all', 'kāryārthāḥ': 'purposes to be achieved

• intended tasks/ends', 'manuṣyāṇām': 'of human beings', 'nararṣabha': 'O bull among men (honorific address)', 'viceṣṭantaḥ': 'those who strive

• those engaged in effort', 'sama': 'equally

• in the same manner', 'dṛśyante': 'are seen

• are observed', 'nivṛttāḥ': 'those who have withdrawn

• those who desist from action', 'tathaiva': 'just so

• likewise', 'narāśreṣṭha': 'O best of men (honorific address)', 'pravṛtti': 'engagement in action

• active pursuit', 'nivṛtti': 'withdrawal

• cessation/renunciation of action', 'daiva': 'fate

• the divine dispensation', 'puruṣārtha': 'human effort

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches a balanced view: human outcomes arise through the combined operation of daiva (destiny) and puruṣārtha (personal effort). It cautions against absolutizing either—neither pure fatalism nor pure self-reliance alone explains results.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya offers a reflective general principle to the listener (addressed as ‘best of men’), framing human action in terms of pravṛtti (active striving) and nivṛtti (withdrawal). This sets an ethical-philosophical tone within the Sauptika Parva’s grim aftermath of war.