Shloka 22
Duryodhana’s Account of Gandharva Defeat and the Pandavas’ Intervention (दुर्योधनवर्णितो गन्धर्वसंग्रामः)
शुभाशुभं कर्म नरो हि कृत्वा प्रतीक्षते तस्य फल सम कर्ता | स तेन मुहृत्यवश: फलेन “मोक्ष: कथं स्यात् पुरुषस्य तस्मात्,मनुष्य शुभ और अशुभ कर्म करके उसके स्वर्ग-नरकरूप फलकी प्रतीक्षा करता है। वह उस फलसे विवश होकर मोहित होता है। ऐसी दशामें मूढ़ पुरुषका उस मोहसे कैसे छुटकारा हो सकता है?
vaishampāyana uvāca |
śubhāśubhaṃ karma naro hi kṛtvā pratīkṣate tasya phalaṃ samakartā |
sa tena muhūrtyavaśaḥ phalena mohyaḥ—mokṣaḥ kathaṃ syāt puruṣasya tasmāt ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Having performed deeds that are auspicious and inauspicious, a man waits for their corresponding results. Overpowered, even for a moment, by those fruits, he becomes deluded. In such a condition, how could that person attain liberation from that very delusion?
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions inevitably yield corresponding results, and attachment to or compulsion by those results produces delusion; as long as one is driven by the fruits of karma, liberation from delusion is difficult.
Vaiśampāyana reflects on the human condition: people perform mixed deeds and then await heaven/hell-like outcomes; when the fruits arrive, they become mentally overpowered and confused, prompting the question of how such a person can attain mokṣa.