Chapter 4 · Caturtho’dhyāyaḥ (Fourth Chapter)
Verse 16
धर्म्याणि देवि सकलानि सदैव कर्मा- ण्यत्यादृतः प्रतिदिनं सुकृती करोति। स्वर्गं प्रयाति च ततो भवतीप्रसादा- ल्लोकत्रयेऽपि फलदा ननु देवि तेन ॥ १६ ॥
dharmyāṇi dēvi sakalāni sadaiva karmā- ṇyatyādṛtaḥ pratidinaṁ sukṛtī karōti | svargaṁ prayāti ca tatō bhavatīprasādā- llōkatrayē’pi phaladā nanu dēvi tēna || 16 ||
Translation
O Goddess, the virtuous person, highly esteemed, always performs all righteous actions every day. He then goes to heaven, and by your grace, you indeed become the giver of fruits (of actions) in all the three worlds.
Word by word
- dharmyāṇi
- righteous
- devi
- O Goddess
- sakalāni
- all
- sadaiva
- always
- karmāṇi
- actions
- atyādṛtaḥ
- highly esteemed
- pratidinaṁ
- every day
- sukṛtī
- the virtuous person
- karoti
- performs
- svargam
- heaven
- prayāti
- goes to
- ca
- and
- tataḥ
- then
- bhavatīprasādāt
- by your grace
- lokatraye
- in the three worlds
- api
- also
- phaladā
- giver of fruits
- nanu
- indeed
- tena
- therefore
Meaning
The gods explain the mechanism of karma under the Goddess's governance. A virtuous person (sukṛtī) performs good deeds (dharmyāṇi karmāṇi). The natural result is merit that leads to heaven (svarga). However, they attribute the fulfillment of these karmic fruits ultimately to the Goddess's grace (bhavatīprasādāt). She is the cosmic administrator who ensures that the law of karma is justly executed across all realms (lokatraye).