सकलकारणकार्यविवर्जितं निजविकल्पवशादुपकल्पितम् । त्वमनपेक्ष्य हि दैवमसन्मयं श्रय शुभाशय पौरुषमुत्तमम् ॥ २६ ॥
sakalakāraṇakāryavivarjitaṁ nijavikalpavaśādupakalpitam | tvamanapēkṣya hi daivamasanmayaṁ śraya śubhāśaya pauruṣamuttamam || 26 ||
Translation
That fate is without any cause or effect, fashioned by the power of one's own imagining. Pay no heed to it, for it is unreal, and rely, pure-hearted one, on the highest effort.
Word by word
- sakala
- any
- kāraṇa
- cause
- kārya
- or effect
- vivarjitaṁ
- without
- nija
- one's own
- vikalpa
- imagining
- vaśād
- (vaśāt) by the power
- upakalpitam
- fashioned
- tvam
- you
- anapēkṣya
- pay no heed
- hi
- for
- daivam
- fate
- asanmayaṁ
- unreal
- śraya
- rely
- śubhāśaya
- pure-hearted one
- pauruṣam
- on effort
- uttamam
- the highest
Meaning
The sarga ends where its neighbour nearly ended (2.6.39), in the same metre and almost the same words. Two small changes matter. "Force of imagining" becomes "power" of it (vaśa): we are ruled by what we imagine. And "your own effort" becomes "the highest effort" (uttamam). The commentary glosses the fate of the verse as false and unreal, like something built by one's own error. After three sargas the verdict stands. Yet one thread is left loose, and the next sarga picks it up, for if fate is a mere word, what do the scriptures mean when they speak of it? For now, the instruction is simple. Do not look that way. Rely on this.