Shloka 20
Yoga-kṛtya (योककृत्य) — Vyāsa on Sense-Restraint, Obstacles, and Brahman-Realization
पौरुषं कर्म दैवं च फलवृत्ति: स्वभावत: । त्रय एते5पृथग्भूता न विवेक॑ तु केचन
pauruṣaṁ karma daivaṁ ca phalavṛttiḥ svabhāvataḥ | traya ete ’pṛthagbhūtā na vivekaṁ tu kecana ||
पौरुषं कर्म दैवं च फलवृत्तिः स्वभावतः । त्रय एतेऽपृथग्भूता न विवेकं तु केचन ॥
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Results arise from the joint operation of human effort (pauruṣa), destiny (daiva), and innate nature (svabhāva). Treating any one factor as the sole cause is an incomplete view; effective action and its fruition depend on their combined interplay.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa delivers a philosophical clarification about causality and moral agency, explaining how success or failure in action is produced through multiple intertwined causes rather than a single isolated determinant.