यदेव तीव्रसंवेगाद् दृढं कर्म कृतं पुरा । तदेव दैवशब्देन पर्यायेणेह कथ्यते ॥ १६ ॥
yadēva tīvrasaṁvēgād dṛḍhaṁ karma kṛtaṁ purā | tadēva daivaśabdēna paryāyēṇēha kathyatē || 16 ||
Translation
That firm action done in the past from a keen urgency: that very thing is here spoken of, by another name, with the word fate.
Word by word
- yad
- (yat) that
- ēva
- very
- tīvra
- keen
- saṁvēgād
- (saṁvegāt) from an urgency
- dṛḍhaṁ
- firm
- karma
- action
- kṛtaṁ
- done
- purā
- in the past
- tad
- (tat) that
- daiva
- fate
- śabdēna
- with the word
- paryāyēṇa
- by another name
- iha
- here
- kathyatē
- is spoken of
Meaning
So the two positions meet. What was called past effort, says the commentary, is the action done earlier with intense longing for its fruit. Fate is a synonym for it (paryāya), and nothing besides. Note tīvra-saṁvega, keen urgency. It is the intensity of an old wanting that gives past action its force. What feels now like a fixed character was once a strong desire. That is why a strong new longing can work against it. Like is met by like.