Shloka 37
Dharma-śaṅkā-nivāraṇa: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Response on Karma-Phala and Trust in Dharma
य॑ यमर्थमभिप्रेप्सु: कुरुते कर्म पूरुष: । तत्तत् सफलमेव स्याद् यदि न स्यात् पुरा कृतम्,यदि पूर्वकृत प्रारब्धकर्म प्रभाव डालनेवाला न होता तो मनुष्य जिस-जिस प्रयोजनके अभिप्रायसे कर्म करता, वह सब सफल ही हो जाता
yaṃ yam artham abhiprepsuḥ kurute karma pūruṣaḥ | tat tat saphalam eva syād yadi na syāt purā kṛtam ||
尤提士提罗说道：倘若过去所作之业的力量并非早已存在，那么人无论为着何种目的而起行、为此而造作，其一切努力必定都能结成果实。然而正因先业仍在施加影响，人的奋求并不总能达到其所意欲的结果。
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between human effort and the determining power of prior deeds: if past karma did not condition outcomes, every intended action would succeed; since past actions bear fruit, results may diverge from one’s plans.
Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on why people do not always obtain the results they strive for, attributing the mismatch between intention and outcome to the influence of previously performed deeds.