Mahabharata 37: Roots Come Before Fruits Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

I may succeed or may fail —
Seeding in self such a doubt,
No man should his duty trail,
Else, law of karma he would flout;
For, ere a deed done bears a fruit
Many an iffy bird must come to roost.
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Here is the transliteration of the original verse:

siddhih vā api atha vā a-siddhiha-pravŗttih-atah anyathā |
bahūnām samavāye hibhāvānām karma siddhyati || vana 32-51 ||

Let us note a few words: siddhih = (we may get)success; vā api atha vā = or may even; a-siddhih = (face)failure; samavāya = a combination (of causes) , union, conjunction; bhāvānām = of causes, of happenings.

The first line needs to be interpreted carefully after providing many words not included in the poetic expression. The law of cause and effect does not work in a linear way, nor is it one dimensional. Many things need to ripen together in order that an action fructifies to what is desired. Therefore one should not give up easily. Between a successful man and not, there often is just one failure, a few minutes of extra efforts. The man who failed just gave up a tad too earlier. Success is elevating. But no one rises high as not to know whither he goes. So, even in the rarefied air of success, one's feet should be firmly planted on earth. For, success may visit to one who has aimed it too low, and failure, for one aiming high. Finally, as Friedrich Nietzsche said, beware— success has always been a great liar.

Topic: success, failure