Shloka 36
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
शक्रस्योद्गम्य चरणं प्रस्थितो जनमेजय: । द्विजस्त्रीणां वध कृत्वा कि दैवेन न वारित:
śakrasyodgamya caraṇaṃ prasthito janamejayaḥ | dvijastrīṇāṃ vadhaṃ kṛtvā kiṃ daivena na vāritaḥ ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Sau khi giết các người vợ của những Bà-la-môn, vua Janamejaya lên đường về cõi trời, nương tựa dưới chân Śakra (Indra). Vì sao Định mệnh (daiva) khi ấy không can thiệp để ngăn ông ta?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse raises a moral problem about responsibility: even when a grievous wrong is committed (killing Brahmin women), one cannot assume that “fate” will automatically stop the agent. The question presses the listener to reflect on human agency, accountability, and the complex timing of karmic consequences rather than expecting immediate divine intervention.
Bhīṣma, in instruction to the king, refers to Janamejaya’s act of killing the wives of Brahmins and his subsequent departure toward heaven under Indra’s protection. Bhīṣma asks rhetorically why daiva (providential fate) did not come at that moment to restrain him, highlighting the tension between royal power, moral transgression, and the (often delayed) operation of cosmic justice.