Shloka 7
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
यथा बीजं विना क्षेत्रमुप्तं भवति निष्फलम् | तथा पुरुषकारेण विना दैवं न सिध्यति,जैसे बीज खेतमें बोये बिना फल नहीं दे सकता, उसी प्रकार दैव (प्रारब्ध) भी पुरुषार्थके बिना नहीं सिद्ध होता
yathā bījaṃ vinā kṣetram uptaṃ bhavati niṣphalam | tathā puruṣakāreṇa vinā daivaṃ na sidhyati ||
毗湿摩说道：“正如田地若无种子，纵使播种耕治，亦终无果；同样，所谓‘命运’（往昔业行之果）若无人的努力，也不能成熟成就。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Destiny (daiva/prārabdha) is not independently productive; it requires puruṣakāra—conscientious human effort—to manifest results. The verse argues for moral agency and disciplined action rather than fatalism.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma and right conduct. Here he uses an agricultural analogy—seed and field—to explain the relationship between fate and personal exertion.