Shloka 37
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
अज्ञानाद् ब्राह्मणं हत्वा स्पृष्टोे बालवधेन च | वैशम्पायनविप्रर्षि: कि दैवेन न वारित:,ब्रह्मर्षि वैशम्पायन अज्ञानवश ब्राह्णकी हत्या करके बाल-वधके पापसे भी लिप्त हो गये थे तो भी दैवने उन्हें स्वर्ग जानेसे क्यों नहीं रोका
ajñānād brāhmaṇaṁ hatvā spṛṣṭo bāla-vadhena ca | vaiśampāyana-viprarṣiḥ kiṁ daivena na vāritaḥ ||
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അജ്ഞാനത്താൽ ഒരു ബ്രാഹ്മണനെ വധിച്ച്, ബാലവധപാപത്താലും മലിനനായ വിപ്രർഷി വൈശമ്പായനനെ ദൈവം എന്തുകൊണ്ട് തടഞ്ഞില്ല?
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.