Shloka 22

Go-apahāra (Cattle Theft), Go-dāna (Cow-Gift), and Suvarṇa-dakṣiṇā (Gold Fee): Karmic Consequence and Purificatory Merit

Devanagari script

अस्ति चैव कृतं पापमज्ञानात्‌ तदपि त्वया । चरस्व पापं पश्चाद्‌ वा पूर्व वा त्वं यथेच्छसि,“यमराजने मेरा आदर-सत्कार करके मुझसे यह बात कही--“राजन्‌! तुम्हारे पुण्यकर्मोकी तो गिनती ही नहीं है। परन्तु अनजानमें तुमसे एक पाप भी बन गया है। उस पापको तुम पीछे भोगो या पहले ही भोग लो, जैसी तुम्हारी इच्छा हो, करो

Transliteration

asti caiva kṛtaṃ pāpam ajñānāt tad api tvayā | carasva pāpaṃ paścād vā pūrva vā tvaṃ yathecchasi ||

Translation

“Yet even by you a sin has been committed—unintentionally, out of ignorance. Therefore, undergo that sin’s consequence either later or first, as you yourself choose.”

Word by Word

[{'term''asti', 'definition': 'there is

it exists'}, {'term''caiva (ca + eva)', 'definition': 'and indeed

moreover, emphatically'}, {'term''kṛtam', 'definition': 'done

committed'}, {'term''pāpam', 'definition': 'sin

wrongful act (and its moral consequence)'}, {'term''ajñānāt', 'definition': 'from ignorance

without knowing'}, {'term''tad api', 'definition': 'even that

that too'}, {'term''tvayā', 'definition': 'by you (instrumental singular)'}, {'term': 'carasva', 'definition': 'undergo

bear (the result)'}, {'term''paścāt', 'definition': 'afterwards

later'}, {'term''vā', 'definition': 'or'}, {'term': 'pūrva', 'definition': 'before

first'}, {'term''tvaṃ', 'definition': 'you'}, {'term': 'yathecchasi (yathā + icchasi)', 'definition': 'as you wish

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

ब

ब्राह्मण (Brāhmaṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even unintended wrongdoing (done from ignorance) still carries karmic consequence; moral order requires that it be experienced, though the timing of its fruition may be presented as a choice.

What is happening in the narrative?

A brāhmaṇa speaker states that the addressed person, despite many merits, has also incurred a single sin unknowingly, and is told to undergo its result either later or earlier according to preference.