Shloka 23
Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)
जैसे लोहार या बढ़ईका बनाया हुआ यन्त्र सदा उसके चालकके अधीन रहता है, उसी प्रकार यह सारा जगत् कालयुक्त कर्मकी प्रेरणासे ही सचेष्ट हो रहा है ।। पुरुषस्य हि दृष्ट्वेमामुत्पत्तिमनिमित्तत: । यदृच्छया विनाशं च शोकहर्षावनर्थकौ,प्राणी किसी व्यक्त कारणके बिना ही दैवात् उत्पन्न होता है और दैवेच्छासे ही अकस्मात् उसका विनाश हो जाता है। यह सब देखकर शोक और हर्ष करना व्यर्थ है
vyāsa uvāca | yathā lohakāraḥ sūtrakāraḥ vā kṛtaṃ yantraṃ sadā tasya cālakasyādhīnaṃ tiṣṭhati, tathā idaṃ sarvaṃ jagat kālayukta-karma-preraṇayāiva saceṣṭaṃ bhavati || puruṣasya hi dṛṣṭvemām utpattim animittataḥ | yadṛcchayā vināśaṃ ca śoka-harṣāv anarthakau ||
Wika ni Vyāsa: Kung paanong ang isang kagamitang ginawa ng panday o karpintero ay laging nasa kapangyarihan ng nagpapatakbo nito, gayon din ang buong daigdig na ito ay napapakilos lamang ng udyok ng karma na kaugnay ng kāla (panahon). Kapag nakita na ang pagsilang ng tao ay dumarating na walang maliwanag na sanhi, at ang pagkapuksa ay biglang dumarating dahil sa pagkakataon lamang, ang dalamhati at labis na pagdiriwang ay nagiging walang saysay.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches equanimity: since worldly events proceed under the prompting of Time and the momentum of action, and since birth and death appear to occur without a clearly graspable cause, excessive grief or elation is ethically unhelpful; one should act rightly while remaining inwardly steady.
In the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa offers a philosophical analogy—like a machine controlled by its operator—to explain how the world’s activity is driven by Kāla and karma, advising the listener to abandon futile emotional extremes.