Shloka 17
अध्याय १३२ — कर्मणा मनसा वाचा: स्वर्गमार्गः तथा आयुर्विपाकः
Adhyāya 132 — The path to heaven through deed, mind, and speech; karmic results for lifespan
जगदग्निरुवाच यो यजेदश्वमेधेन वाजपेयशतेन ह । अवाक्शिरा वा लम्बेत सत्र॑ वा स्फीतमाहरेत्
Jamadagnir uvāca: yo yajed aśvamedhena vājapeya-śatena ha | avāk-śirā vā lambeta satraṁ vā sphītam āharet | kintu yasya hṛdayaṁ na śuddhaṁ sa pāpī niścayaṁ narakaṁ gacchati | yato yajñaḥ satyaṁ ca hṛdaya-śuddhiś ca trayaḥ samāḥ (tathāpi hṛdaya-śuddhiḥ śreṣṭhā) ||
Jamadagni said: “Even if a man performs an Aśvamedha sacrifice, or a hundred Vājapeya rites; even if he undertakes severe austerities—hanging from a tree with his head downward—or establishes a prosperous sacrificial session (satra), still, if his heart is not pure, that sinner surely goes to hell. For sacrifice, truthfulness, and purity of heart are all of equal worth—yet purity of heart is the highest among them.”
धौग्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
External religious achievements—grand sacrifices or severe austerities—do not redeem a person whose inner disposition is impure. Moral purification of the heart is presented as the highest religious value, even above ritual performance, and it is inseparable from truthfulness.
A sage (Jamadagni) delivers an instruction in the Anuśāsana Parva, contrasting prestigious Vedic rites and harsh ascetic practices with the decisive criterion of spiritual worth: purity of heart. The statement functions as ethical counsel, warning that ritual without inner integrity leads to downfall.