Shloka 73

Devanagari script

कर्मदायादवॉल्लोक: कर्मसम्बन्धलक्षण: । कर्माणि चोदयन्तीह यथान्योन्यं तथा वयम्‌,संसारमें कर्म ही मनुष्योंका पुत्र-पौत्रके समान अनुगमन करनेवाला है। कर्म ही दुःख- सुखके सम्बन्धका सूचक है। इस जगतमें कर्म ही जैसे परस्पर एक-दूसरेको प्रेरित करते हैं, वैसे ही हम भी कर्मोंसे ही प्रेरित हुए हैं

Transliteration

karmadāyādavāl loko karma-sambandha-lakṣaṇaḥ | karmāṇi codayantīha yathānyonyaṃ tathā vayam ||

Translation

Kata Sang Waktu: “Di dunia ini, karma mengikuti seseorang seperti seorang waris—seperti anak atau cucu yang menyambung keturunan. Karma ialah tanda yang memperlihatkan pertalian seseorang dengan suka dan duka. Di sini, perbuatan saling mendorong dalam rangkaian yang berbalas; demikian juga, kami pun bergerak hanya kerana karma.”

Word by Word

कर्मaction, deed

दायादवत्like an heir/offspring (i.e., following like a son/grandson)

लोकःworld

कर्मसम्बन्धलक्षणःhaving the mark/sign of connection with karma

कर्माणिactions (deeds)

चand

उदयन्तिarise, come forth

इहhere, in this world

यथाas, just as

अन्योन्यम्mutually, one another

तथाso, likewise

वयम्we

Speaker

काल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kāla (Time)

karma (action)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Karma is inseparable from a person: it follows like an heir and becomes the defining basis for one’s experience of pleasure and pain. Even cosmic forces such as Time operate in accordance with the chain of actions and their consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kāla (Time) is speaking, explaining that events in the world are driven by karma. Actions generate further actions, and the speaker emphasizes that even ‘we’ (the powers governing events) are prompted by karma’s causal order.