Shloka 193
Pūjya-namaskārya-prakaraṇa
On Those Worthy of Honor and Salutation
यदर्थ यत्नवानेव न लभे विप्रतां विभो । प्रभो! निश्चय ही पुरुषार्थके द्वारा दैवका उल्लंघन नहीं किया जा सकता; क्योंकि मैं जिसके लिये ऐसा प्रयत्नशील हूँ उस ब्राह्मणत्वको नहीं उपलब्ध कर पाता हूँ
yadarthaṃ yatnavān eva na labhe vipratāṃ vibho | prabho! niścaya hi puruṣārthakena dvārā daivasya ullaṅghanaṃ na śakyaṃ kartum; yasmād ahaṃ yasya kṛte tathā prayatnaśīlaḥ asmi tad brāhmaṇatvaṃ na prāpnomi ||
马坦伽说道：“噢，大能之主！我为此目标竭尽人力，却仍不得婆罗门之位。噢，尊主！诚然，仅凭人的努力不能逾越天命；因为纵使我奋力精进，仍不能获得我所劳求的婆罗门性。”
मतंग उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between puruṣārtha (human effort) and daiva (destiny), asserting that sheer effort may not overturn what is divinely or karmically ordained—especially regarding social-spiritual status like brāhmaṇa-hood.
Matanga laments to a lordly interlocutor that despite sustained striving to attain vipra/brāhmaṇa status, he cannot achieve it, and he concludes that fate cannot be surpassed merely through personal endeavor.