Shloka 19
Parīkṣit Confronts Kali: Dharma (Bull) and Bhūmi (Cow) at the Dawn of Kali-yuga
केचिद् विकल्पवसना आहुरात्मानमात्मन: । दैवमन्येऽपरे कर्म स्वभावमपरे प्रभुम् ॥ १९ ॥
kecid vikalpa-vasanā āhur ātmānam ātmanaḥ daivam anye ’pare karma svabhāvam apare prabhum
Некоторые недуалистические философы утверждают, что самость является причиной счастья и страдания. Другие приписывают это божественной силе, иные — карме (деянию), а грубые материалисты считают природу высшей причиной.
As referred to above, philosophers like Jaimini and his followers establish that fruitive activity is the root cause of all distress and happiness, and that even if there is a superior authority, some superhuman powerful God or gods, He or they are also under the influence of fruitive activity because they reward result according to one’s action. They say that action is not independent because action is performed by some performer; therefore, the performer himself is the cause of his own happiness or distress. In the Bhagavad-gītā (6.5) also it is confirmed that by one’s mind, freed from material affection, one can deliver himself from the sufferings of material pangs. So one should not entangle oneself in matter by the mind’s material affections. Thus one’s own mind is one’s friend or enemy in one’s material happiness and distress.
FAQs
This verse notes that people propose different causes—self, destiny (daiva), karma, or nature (svabhāva)—but also includes the conclusion held by devotees: the Supreme Lord (prabhu) is the ultimate cause behind all causes.
He is describing the variety of worldly and philosophical opinions that arise from speculation, contrasting them with the theistic understanding that culminates in recognizing the Lord’s supreme governance.
Do your duty responsibly (acknowledging karma), accept outcomes without bitterness (recognizing providence), and cultivate devotion by remembering the Supreme Lord as the guiding controller behind life’s changes.