Shloka 22
Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)
त्वष्टेव विहित॑ यन्त्र यथा चेष्टयितुर्वशे । कर्मणा कालयुक्तेन तथेदं चेष्टते जगत्
tvaṣṭeva vihitaṃ yantraṃ yathā ceṣṭayitur vaśe | karmaṇā kālayuktena tathedaṃ ceṣṭate jagat ||
ヴィヤーサは言った。「トヴァシュトリ（Tvaṣṭṛ）が作り上げた機械が、操る者の意のままに動くように、この世界もまた動く——業（カルマ）に駆られ、時（カーラ）に繋がれて。ここに示される倫理の要は、衆生と出来事が業と時の合一の統御のもとに展開することを悟らせ、自己の能動性への驕りを鎮め、宇宙の秩序の限界のうちで、見極めと節制と責任を促す点にある。」
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that worldly activity is governed by the combined forces of karma (causal action) and kāla (time). Like a crafted machine that moves under an operator’s control, the world’s motions are not merely personal whim; this encourages humility about individual control while still recognizing ethical responsibility for one’s actions.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Vyāsa offers a philosophical analogy to explain how events unfold. He compares the world’s functioning to a mechanism made by Tvaṣṭṛ, emphasizing that beings act within a larger framework shaped by karma and time.