Shloka 37

दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः

Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort

Devanagari script

अज्ञानाद्‌ ब्राह्मणं हत्वा स्पृष्टोे बालवधेन च | वैशम्पायनविप्रर्षि: कि दैवेन न वारित:,ब्रह्मर्षि वैशम्पायन अज्ञानवश ब्राह्णकी हत्या करके बाल-वधके पापसे भी लिप्त हो गये थे तो भी दैवने उन्हें स्वर्ग जानेसे क्यों नहीं रोका

Transliteration

ajñānād brāhmaṇaṁ hatvā spṛṣṭo bāla-vadhena ca | vaiśampāyana-viprarṣiḥ kiṁ daivena na vāritaḥ ||

Translation

بھیشم نے کہا—نادانی سے ایک برہمن کو قتل کرکے اور بچے کے قتل کے گناہ سے بھی آلودہ ہو کر، برہمن رِشی ویشمپاین کو دَیو (تقدیر) نے کیوں نہ روکا؟

Word by Word

अज्ञानात्out of ignorance

ब्राह्मणम्a Brahmin

हत्वाhaving killed

स्पृष्टःtainted/affected

बालवधेनby child-slaying

चand

वैशम्पायनविप्रर्षिःthe brahmin-sage Vaiśampāyana

किम्why?/what?

दैवेनby fate/by divine will

नnot

वारितःprevented/checked

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Vaiśampāyana

Brāhmaṇa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse raises a dharmic problem: if grave acts like Brahmin-killing and child-killing occurred (even through ignorance), how can destiny allow the agent to reach heaven? It invites reflection on how intention (ajñāna), expiation, and divine order (daiva) interact in moral accountability.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma poses a pointed question about the sage Vaiśampāyana: despite being implicated in severe sins—Brahmin-slaying and child-slaying—why did daiva not obstruct him? The question functions as a prompt for a subsequent explanation about karmic causality, intention, and the workings of dharma.