Shloka 17
शल्यपर्वणि प्रथमाध्यायः — Karṇa-vadha-anantaraṃ Śalya-niyogaḥ, Saṃjayasya Dhṛtarāṣṭra-nivedanam
विधिश्व बलवानत्र पौरुषं तु निरर्थकम् | शक्रतुल्यबला: सर्वे यथावध्यन्त पापडवै:
vidhiś ca balavān atra pauruṣaṁ tu nirarthakam | śakra-tulyabalāḥ sarve yathāvadhyanta pāṇḍavaiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Trong đời này, chính số mệnh (đạo trời đã định) mới là mạnh nhất; sức người tự thân rốt cuộc cũng vô ích. Bởi dẫu các con trai của ngài đều hùng mạnh như Indra, họ vẫn bị các Pāṇḍava giết chết.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the tension between fate (vidhi) and human effort (pauruṣa): even extraordinary prowess may fail when the larger moral-causal order and destined outcome prevail. It cautions against overreliance on strength alone and invites reflection on responsibility, dharma, and the limits of personal power.
Vaiśampāyana comments on the catastrophic end of the Kaurava side: despite being as strong as Indra, the sons of the addressed party were killed by the Pāṇḍavas. The statement functions as a consoling yet sobering explanation of defeat, attributing it to the dominance of fate/ordained outcome rather than lack of valor.