Shloka 16
शकुनि (हिरण्मय-पक्षी) उपदेशः — Vighasāśin and the Difficulty of Gārhasthya
अथ ये कर्म निन्दन्तो मनुष्या: कापथं गता: । मूढानामर्थहीनानां तेषामेनस्तु विद्यते,जो मनुष्य कर्मकी निन््दा करते हुए कुमार्गका आश्रय लेते हैं, उन पुरुषार्थहीन मूढ़ पुरुषोंको पाप लगता है
atha ye karma nindanto manuṣyāḥ kāpathaṃ gatāḥ | mūḍhānām arthahīnānāṃ teṣām enaḥ tu vidyate ||
Arjuna said: “Those people who, while censuring rightful action, take to a wrong path—deluded and devoid of true purpose—incur sin. Their blame of duty does not free them; rather, their misguided rejection of action becomes a moral fault.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Condemning rightful action (karma) and choosing an immoral path does not lead to purity or wisdom; it produces moral fault (enaḥ). True ethical life requires discernment and adherence to dharma rather than cynical rejection of duty.
In the Shanti Parva’s reflective discourse on dharma and conduct, Arjuna speaks about people who disparage action and drift into wrong ways, stating that such deluded, purposeless persons accrue sin by their misguided stance.