Shloka 21
Dharma-śaṅkā-nivāraṇa: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Response on Karma-Phala and Trust in Dharma
धातापि हि स्वकर्मव तैस्तैहेंतुभिरी श्वर: । विदधाति विभज्येह फल पूर्वकृतं नृणाम्,जगदाधार परमेश्वर भी उपर्युक्त हठ आदि हेतुओंसे जीवोंके अपने-अपने कर्मको ही विभक्त करके मनुष्योंको उनके पूर्वजन्ममें किये हुए कर्मके फलरूपसे यहाँ प्राप्त कराता है
Dhātāpi hi svakarmabhiḥ tais tair hetubhir īśvaraḥ | vidadhāti vibhajyeha phalaṃ pūrvakṛtaṃ nṛṇām ||
Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Maging ang Maylikha—ang Diyos, ang Panginoon—sa pamamagitan ng iba’t ibang sanhi, ay naghahati-hati sa sariling mga gawa ng bawat tao at, sa mundong ito, ipinagkakaloob sa sangkatauhan ang mga bunga ng mga pagkilos na nagawa noong una. Kaya ang dinaranas ng tao ay hindi basta nagkataon, kundi ang makatarungang paghinog ng sarili niyang karma sa ilalim ng pamamahala ng Kataas-taasan.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that experiences in this life arise as the fruits of one’s own past actions, distributed in an orderly way by the Lord; moral causality (karma) operates under divine governance rather than mere chance.
Yudhiṣṭhira is reflecting on why people receive differing outcomes—happiness, suffering, success, failure—and explains it through the framework of karma: the Creator apportions results according to each person’s prior deeds.