Shloka 24
Kurukṣetra–Samantapañcaka Māhātmya: King Kuru’s Ploughing and Indra’s Boon (प्रजापतेरुत्तरवेदिः समन्तपञ्चकं)
समयेन तपोडर्ध च कृच्छात् प्रतिगृहीतवान् | साधयित्वा तदा5>त्मानं तस्या: स गतिमन्वियात्
samayena tapo 'rdhaṃ ca kṛcchrāt pratigṛhītavān | sādhayitvā tadātmānaṃ tasyāḥ sa gatim anviyāt ||
समयेन तपोऽर्धं च कृच्छ्रात् प्रतिगृहीतवान् । साधयित्वा तदात्मानं तस्याः स गतिमन्वियात् ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Merit and spiritual progress are gained in the right time and through genuine effort; even when a share of austerity is received, the decisive factor is self-perfection—disciplining oneself—after which one can attain the same destined state.
The narrator states that a person, after a period of time and with difficulty, receives half of an austerity/merit, and then—having completed inner discipline—follows 'her' destiny, i.e., reaches the same course or final state as that woman.