Mahabharata 3.31.39 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 31, Shloka 39
Draupadī’s Lament and Theodicy: Dharma, Dice, and Īśvara’s Governance (Āraṇyaka-parva 31)
कर्मणां फलमस्तीह तथैतद् धर्मशासनम् | ब्रह्मा प्रोवाच पुत्राणां यदृषिर्वेद कश्यप:
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | karmaṇāṁ phalam astīha tathaitad dharmaśāsanam | brahmā provāca putrāṇāṁ yad ṛṣir veda kaśyapaḥ ||
യുധിഷ്ഠിരൻ പറഞ്ഞു— ഈ ലോകത്തിൽ കർമ്മങ്ങൾക്ക് ഫലം നിർബന്ധമായും ലഭിക്കുന്നു; ഇതാണ് ധർമ്മശാസനത്തിന്റെ വിധി. ഈ സത്യം ബ്രഹ്മാവ് തന്റെ പുത്രന്മാരോട് പ്രസ്താവിച്ചു; അതിനെ കശ്യപ ഋഷി അറിയുന്നു.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms the doctrine of karma-phala: every action inevitably yields a corresponding result, and this is presented not as opinion but as dharmaśāsana—an authoritative moral law traced to Brahmā and known by sages like Kaśyapa.
Yudhiṣṭhira, speaking within the Vana Parva discourse context, supports his ethical reasoning by citing a traditional lineage of authority: Brahmā taught this principle to his sons, and Kaśyapa is invoked as a seer who knows and preserves that teaching.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.