कालविद्भिर्विनिर्णीता यस्याऽतिचिरजीविता । स चेज्जीवति संछिन्नशिरास्तद्दैवमुत्तमम् ॥ १८ ॥
kālavidbhirvinirṇītā yasyā’ticirajīvitā | sa cējjīvati saṁchinnaśirāstaddaivamuttamam || 18 ||
Translation
If one whom those who know the times have pronounced to be long-lived goes on living with his head cut off, then fate is supreme.
Word by word
- kāla
- the times
- vidbhir
- (vidbhiḥ) by those who know
- vinirṇītā
- pronounced
- yasya
- of whom
- ati
- very
- cira
- long
- jīvitā
- life
- sa
- (saḥ) he
- cēj
- (cet) if
- jīvati
- goes on living
- saṁchinna
- cut off
- śirās
- (śirāḥ) with his head
- tad
- (tat) then
- daivam
- fate
- uttamam
- is supreme
Meaning
A shrewd objection is met: astrologers can foretell a life; what else is that but fate? The commentary says that the planets only indicate effort and its fruit, and are not the cause of the fruit. Here is the test. Let an astrologer promise someone a long life, and let his head be cut off. If he goes on living, Vasiṣṭha will concede. A forecast does not cancel the ordinary laws of action. It is the sort of thing to keep in mind when a horoscope, a family saying or a doctor's guess has been heard as a sentence. A prediction is information, and what is said to be likely can be guarded against. Nobody who was told of a long life was freed from looking after it.