Shloka 37
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
अज्ञानाद् ब्राह्मणं हत्वा स्पृष्टोे बालवधेन च | वैशम्पायनविप्रर्षि: कि दैवेन न वारित:
ajñānād brāhmaṇaṁ hatvā spṛṣṭo bāla-vadhena ca | vaiśampāyana-viprarṣiḥ kiṁ daivena na vāritaḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「ヴァイシャンパーヤナというバラモンの聖仙は、無知ゆえにバラモンを殺し、さらに幼子殺しの罪にも染まった。それでもなぜ運命（ダイヴァ）は彼を抑えなかったのか。なぜ天界に至るのを阻まなかったのか。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse raises a dharmic problem: if grave acts like Brahmin-killing and child-killing occurred (even through ignorance), how can destiny allow the agent to reach heaven? It invites reflection on how intention (ajñāna), expiation, and divine order (daiva) interact in moral accountability.
Bhīṣma poses a pointed question about the sage Vaiśampāyana: despite being implicated in severe sins—Brahmin-slaying and child-slaying—why did daiva not obstruct him? The question functions as a prompt for a subsequent explanation about karmic causality, intention, and the workings of dharma.