Shloka 34
अज्ञान–लोभयोः परस्परहेतुत्वम्
Mutual Causality of Ignorance and Greed
ब॒हस्पतिरुवाच कृत्वा पापं पूर्वमबुद्धिपूर्व पुण्यानि चेत्कुरुते बुद्धिपूर्वम् । स तत् पापं नुदते कर्मशीलो वासो यथा मलिने क्षारयुक्तम्
bṛhaspatir uvāca—kṛtvā pāpaṃ pūrvam abuddhipūrvam puṇyāni cet kurute buddhipūrvam | sa tat pāpaṃ nudate karmaśīlo vāso yathā maline kṣārayuktam ||
বৃহস্পতিয়ে ক’লে—যদি কোনো মানুহে আগতে অজ্ঞাতে পাপ কৰি পেলায় আৰু পাছত স্পষ্ট বোধেৰে পুণ্যকৰ্মত প্ৰবৃত্ত হয়, তেন্তে সৎকৰ্মনিষ্ঠ সেই পুৰুষে সেই পাপ তেনেকৈ দূৰ কৰে, যেন ক্ষাৰ (চ’ডা/চাবোন) লগালে মলিন বস্ত্ৰৰ ময়লা সৰি যায়।
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unintentional wrongdoing can be counteracted by deliberate, discerning performance of meritorious actions; sustained righteous conduct has a cleansing effect on prior sin, like a cleanser removing stains from cloth.
In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, Bṛhaspati offers a moral principle: when a person who once sinned in ignorance later knowingly commits to virtuous deeds, those good actions dispel the earlier fault, illustrated through the everyday image of washing a stained garment with alkali.