Shloka 33
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
यथा सृष्टोडसि कौन्तेय धात्रा कर्मसु तत् कुरु । अत एव हि सिद्धिस्ते नेशस्त्वं कर्मणां नृप
yathā sṛṣṭo 'si kaunteya dhātrā karmasu tat kuru | ata eva hi siddhis te neśas tvaṃ karmaṇāṃ nṛpa ||
Disse Vyāsa: “Ó filho de Kuntī, ó rei: assim como o Criador te moldou para deveres específicos, executa precisamente essas ações. Delas somente surgirá a tua realização. Ó soberano, tu não és o senhor nem o controlador das ações (e de seus frutos).”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should perform the duties for which one is naturally and providentially constituted (svadharma). Fulfillment comes from faithful performance of one’s proper work, while one should not claim lordship over actions and especially their outcomes.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Vyāsa addresses a Kuntī’s son who is also a king, urging him to adhere to his ordained responsibilities and to relinquish the notion that he controls the ultimate results of action.