14. I get the immediate fruit of my labour in proportion to my exertion: hence I say, I enjoy the fruit of my labour and not of fortune.
15. Activity gives us success and it is this that elevates the intelligent. But men of little understandings rely only in fortune in their miserable state.
16. We have ocular evidence (of the efficacy) of activity every day, in the instances of men travelling in distant countries (for the sake of gain).
17. He that eats becomes satiate and not who starves: so he who walks is said to proceed and not one who rests: and in like manner whoso speaks is called a speaker and not the silent man: thus action makes the man.
18. Wise men escape from great difficulties by means of their exertions; but not so the mistaken fatalist by his fruitless inertness.
19. Whoso acts in any manner, gets his reward accordingly; but the restive man has nothing to expect anywhere.
20. By well directed industry a man reaps the best reward, as he meets with its reverse by his misapplied labour: think upon this O Ráma! and do as you like.
21. The reward of industry which a man meets with sooner or later at any time or place, the same is said by the wise to be his fortune.
22. No one can see his fortune, nor has any body ever seen the same, nor is there such a thing to be found in any world: it is but the merit of our acts here which they place in the other world.
23. A man is born on earth to grow up and decay in his time, and no destiny is seen therein in the same way as his childhood, youth and old age.