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 ||
वैशंपायन म्हणाले—“कर्मकाळी दैवाने आघात झाल्यामुळे राजा जे कार्य साधू शकत नाही, त्याला ज्ञानीजन धर्मभंग म्हणत नाहीत. ती अपयश प्रबळ भाग्यामुळे मानली जाते, कर्तव्यभंगामुळे नव्हे.”
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).