Shloka 22
Adhyāya 222 — ब्रह्मस्थानप्राप्ति: मोक्षधर्मे समत्वव्रतम्
Attaining the Brahman-Station: The Vow of Equanimity in Mokṣadharma
स्वभावप्रेरिता: सर्वे निविशन्ते गुणा यदा । शुभाशुभास्तदा तत्र कस्य कि मानकारणम्,जब शुभ और अशुभ सभी प्रकारके गुण स्वभावकी ही प्रेरणासे प्राप्त होते हैं, तब किसीको भी उनपर अभिमान करनेका क्या कारण है?
svabhāva-preritāḥ sarve niviśante guṇā yadā | śubhāśubhās tadā tatra kasya kiṁ māna-kāraṇam ||
Prahlāda said: “When all qualities—auspicious and inauspicious alike—enter beings under the impulse of their own nature, what ground is there for anyone to take pride in them?” Therefore merit and fault are to be understood with humility, not seized as possessions for self-exaltation.
प्रह्माद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Since both good and bad traits arise under the prompting of one’s innate nature, claiming personal credit and taking pride in them is misguided; the verse urges humility and a reduction of ego around one’s qualities.
In Śānti Parva’s reflective instruction, Prahlāda speaks as a teacher, presenting a philosophical-ethical point: qualities manifest according to svabhāva, so one should not become arrogant about possessing ‘good’ qualities (nor despair as if wholly self-made by ‘bad’ ones).