Śaṅkha–Likhita Upākhyāna: Daṇḍa, Confession, and the Purification of Kingship (शङ्ख-लिखितोपाख्यानम्)
दैवेनाभ्याहतो राजा कर्मकाले महद्ुते । न साधयति यत् कर्म न तत्राहुरतिक्रमम्
daivenābhyāhato rājā karmakāle mahadute | na sādhayati yat karma na tatrāhur atikramam ||
وَیشَمپایَن نے کہا—“جب عمل کے وقت راجا پر تقدیر کا وار پڑ جائے اور وہ اپنا مقصود کام پورا نہ کر سکے، تو دانا لوگ اسے دھرم کی خلاف ورزی نہیں کہتے۔ یہ ناکامی دانستہ ترکِ فرض نہیں، بلکہ غالب تقدیر کے سبب سمجھی جاتی ہے۔”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
If a ruler fails to complete an intended duty because overpowering fate intervenes at the crucial moment, that failure is not judged as a willful breach of dharma; culpability depends on intention and agency, not merely on outcome.
Vaiśampāyana states a general principle used in ethical reasoning: when circumstances attributed to daiva obstruct a king during the time of action, the tradition does not label the resulting non-fulfillment as an atikrama (transgression).