Shloka 20

धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा—व्यासोपदेशः

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Collapse and Vyāsa’s Counsel

Devanagari script

मेरा तो ऐसा विश्वास है कि दीर्घ कालतक प्रयत्न करके भी कोई प्राणी दैवके विधानको रोक नहीं सकता ।। देवतानां हि यत्‌ कार्य मया प्रत्यक्षत: श्रुतम्‌ । तत्‌ ते5हं सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि यथा स्थैर्य भवेत्‌ तव,देवताओंका जो कार्य मैंने प्रत्यक्ष अपने कानोंसे सुना है, वह तुम्हें बता रहा हूँ, जिससे तुम्हारा मन स्थिर हो सके

Transliteration

vyāsa uvāca | mama tv evaṃ viśvāsaḥ—dīrgha-kālaṃ yatnam api kṛtvā na kaścid prāṇī daiva-vidhānaṃ roddhuṃ śaknoti || devatānāṃ hi yat kāryaṃ mayā pratyakṣataḥ śrutam | tat te ’haṃ sampravakṣyāmi yathā sthairyaṃ bhavet tava ||

Translation

Vyāsa said: “This is my firm conviction: even after striving for a very long time, no living being can obstruct what has been ordained by fate. I shall now tell you what I myself have directly heard concerning the work of the gods, so that your mind may become steady.”

Word by Word

• {'viśvāsaḥ': 'firm conviction, settled belief', 'dīrgha-kāla': 'a long time

• prolonged duration', 'yatna / prayatna': 'effort, striving', 'prāṇī': 'living being, creature', 'daiva': 'fate

• that which is divine/ordained', 'vidhāna': 'arrangement, ordinance, decree', 'roddhum': 'to restrain, stop, obstruct', 'devatānām': 'of the gods', 'kāryam': 'task, work, affair, undertaking', 'pratyakṣataḥ': 'directly, firsthand', 'śrutam': 'heard', 'sampravakṣyāmi': 'I will explain fully / tell in detail', 'sthairyam': 'steadiness, composure, stability', 'tava': 'your'}

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• devatāḥ (the gods)
• daiva (fate/ordinance)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Human effort has limits: the divine ordinance (daiva-vidhāna) cannot ultimately be blocked. Recognizing this is offered as a means to regain steadiness and ethical composure amid grief.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa addresses a grief-stricken listener in the aftermath of the war, preparing to recount a divine account he has heard firsthand about the gods’ role, with the aim of stabilizing the listener’s mind.