Shloka 3
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ७७: पुरुषकार–दैवसंयोगः तथा दुष्टमन्त्रपरामर्शस्य राजनैतिक-परिणामः
Human Effort, Contingency, and the Political Effects of Corrupt Counsel
अफल मन्यसे वापि पुरुषस्य पराक्रमम् | न चान्तरेण कर्माणि पौरुषेण फलोदय:
aphalaṁ manyase vāpi puruṣasya parākramam | na cāntareṇa karmāṇi pauruṣeṇa phalodayaḥ ||
Arjuna berkata: “Atau adakah engkau menganggap keberanian seorang manusia itu sia-sia? Kerana tanpa gerak kerja perbuatan lampau (karma), tiada hasil yang terbit semata-mata daripada usaha diri.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the tension between personal effort (pauruṣa/puruṣārtha) and the force of prior karma: results do not arise from effort alone if the supporting conditions shaped by past deeds are absent.
Arjuna challenges the implied view that human valor is ineffective, arguing that outcomes depend on a conjunction of present exertion and the momentum of past actions, a key ethical reflection amid the deliberations of the Udyoga Parva.