Shloka 28
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
एको5हमस्मीति च मन्यसे त्वं॑ न हृच्छयं वेत्सि मुनि पुराणम् । यो वेदिता कर्मण: पापकस्य तस्यान्तिके त्वं वृजिनं करोषि,“आप समझ रहे हैं कि उस समय मैं अकेला था (कोई देखनेवाला नहीं था), परंतु आपको पता नहीं कि वह सनातन मुनि (परमात्मा) सबके हृदयमें अन्तर्यामीरूपसे विद्यमान है। वह सबके पाप-पुण्यको जानता है और आप उसीके निकट रहकर पाप कर रहे हैं
eko’ham asmīti ca manyase tvaṁ na hṛcchayaṁ vetsi muni-purāṇam | yo veditā karmaṇaḥ pāpakasya tasyāntike tvaṁ vṛjinaṁ karoṣi ||
You think, “I was alone”—as though no one witnessed it. But you do not know the ancient Sage who dwells hidden in the heart. He is the knower of sinful deeds; and yet, in His very presence, you commit wrongdoing.
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
No act is truly hidden: even if no human observer is present, the indwelling witness in the heart knows one’s deeds. Therefore wrongdoing cannot be excused by secrecy; ethical accountability is internal as well as social.
Duṣyanta rebukes the other party’s assumption that the deed was done in solitude and thus beyond scrutiny, asserting that the ancient heart-dwelling knower (the inner witness/Paramātman) perceives sinful action, making the wrongdoing especially blameworthy.