Shloka 15
Śaṅkha–Likhita Upākhyāna: Daṇḍa, Confession, and the Purification of Kingship (शङ्ख-लिखितोपाख्यानम्)
दैवेनाभ्याहतो राजा कर्मकाले महद्ुते । न साधयति यत् कर्म न तत्राहुरतिक्रमम्
daivenābhyāhato rājā karmakāle mahadute | na sādhayati yat karma na tatrāhur atikramam ||
ವೈಶಂಪಾಯನನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—“ಕರ್ಮಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ದೈವದಿಂದ ಆಘಾತಗೊಂಡ ರಾಜನು ತಾನು ಕೈಗೊಂಡ ಕಾರ್ಯವನ್ನು ಸಾಧಿಸಲಾರದೆ ಹೋದರೆ, ಜ್ಞಾನಿಗಳು ಅದನ್ನು ಧರ್ಮಾತಿಕ್ರಮವೆಂದು ಹೇಳುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದು ಉದ್ದೇಶಿತ ಕರ್ತವ್ಯಭಂಗವಲ್ಲ; ಪ್ರಬಲ ವಿಧಿಯ ಫಲವೆಂದು ಎಣಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
If a ruler fails to complete an intended duty because overpowering fate intervenes at the crucial moment, that failure is not judged as a willful breach of dharma; culpability depends on intention and agency, not merely on outcome.
Vaiśampāyana states a general principle used in ethical reasoning: when circumstances attributed to daiva obstruct a king during the time of action, the tradition does not label the resulting non-fulfillment as an atikrama (transgression).