पौरुषोपनता नित्यमिष्टानिष्टस्य वस्तुनः । प्राप्तिरिष्टाऽप्यनिष्टा वा दैवशब्देन कथ्यते ॥ ५ ॥
pauruṣōpanatā nityamiṣṭāniṣṭasya vastunaḥ | prāptiriṣṭā’pyaniṣṭā vā daivaśabdēna kathyatē || 5 ||
Translation
The gaining of what is wanted or unwanted from a thing, wanted or unwanted, always brought by effort: this is what the word fate names.
Word by word
- pauruṣa
- by effort
- upanatā
- brought
- nityam
- always
- iṣṭa
- wanted
- aniṣṭasya
- or unwanted
- vastunaḥ
- from a thing
- prāptir
- (prāptiḥ) the gaining
- api
- and
- aniṣṭā
- unwanted
- vā
- or
- daiva
- fate
- śabdēna
- by the word
- kathyatē
- is named
Meaning
The same point, from what we want and do not want. Whatever comes to us, sought or feared, was brought near (upanata) by effort. The verse says "always" (nityam), and that includes the unwanted. This is the difficult part. It is easy to own one's successes and hard to own the diagnosis, the failed venture, the broken friendship. The teaching does not say that each of these is deserved in any simple way. It says that they did not come from outside the order of action. Seen so, even a bad result is workable material, since what came by action can be met by action.