Shloka 193
Pūjya-namaskārya-prakaraṇa
On Those Worthy of Honor and Salutation
यदर्थ यत्नवानेव न लभे विप्रतां विभो । प्रभो! निश्चय ही पुरुषार्थके द्वारा दैवका उल्लंघन नहीं किया जा सकता; क्योंकि मैं जिसके लिये ऐसा प्रयत्नशील हूँ उस ब्राह्मणत्वको नहीं उपलब्ध कर पाता हूँ
yadarthaṃ yatnavān eva na labhe vipratāṃ vibho | prabho! niścaya hi puruṣārthakena dvārā daivasya ullaṅghanaṃ na śakyaṃ kartum; yasmād ahaṃ yasya kṛte tathā prayatnaśīlaḥ asmi tad brāhmaṇatvaṃ na prāpnomi ||
マタンガは言った。「おお、力ある主よ。私はその目的のために力の限り努めているのに、なおブラーフマナの位を得られない。主よ、確かに、人の努力だけでは宿命を踏み越えることはできぬ。なぜなら、これほどまでに励んでも、私が労して求めるブラーフマナ性を得られないからである。」
मतंग उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between puruṣārtha (human effort) and daiva (destiny), asserting that sheer effort may not overturn what is divinely or karmically ordained—especially regarding social-spiritual status like brāhmaṇa-hood.
Matanga laments to a lordly interlocutor that despite sustained striving to attain vipra/brāhmaṇa status, he cannot achieve it, and he concludes that fate cannot be surpassed merely through personal endeavor.