Shloka 36
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
शक्रस्योद्गम्य चरणं प्रस्थितो जनमेजय: । द्विजस्त्रीणां वध कृत्वा कि दैवेन न वारित:,राजा जनमेजय द्विज स्त्रियोंका वध करके इन्द्रके चरणका आश्रय ले जब स्वर्गलोकको प्रस्थित हुए, उस समय दैवने उसे आकर क्यों नहीं रोका
śakrasyodgamya caraṇaṃ prasthito janamejayaḥ | dvijastrīṇāṃ vadhaṃ kṛtvā kiṃ daivena na vāritaḥ ||
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ദ്വിജസ്ത്രീകളെ വധിച്ച് ജനമേജയ രാജാവ് ശക്രന്റെ പാദങ്ങളിൽ ശരണം തേടി സ്വർഗത്തിലേക്ക് പുറപ്പെട്ടു; അപ്പോൾ ദൈവം വന്ന് അവനെ എന്തുകൊണ്ട് തടഞ്ഞില്ല?
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse raises a moral problem about responsibility: even when a grievous wrong is committed (killing Brahmin women), one cannot assume that “fate” will automatically stop the agent. The question presses the listener to reflect on human agency, accountability, and the complex timing of karmic consequences rather than expecting immediate divine intervention.
Bhīṣma, in instruction to the king, refers to Janamejaya’s act of killing the wives of Brahmins and his subsequent departure toward heaven under Indra’s protection. Bhīṣma asks rhetorically why daiva (providential fate) did not come at that moment to restrain him, highlighting the tension between royal power, moral transgression, and the (often delayed) operation of cosmic justice.