Shloka 31
Gṛhastha-vṛtti and Niyama: Models of Householder Livelihood and Discipline (गृहस्थवृत्ति-नियमाः)
अधर्म धर्मकामो हि करोति हाविचक्षण: । धर्म वाधर्मसंकाशं शोचन्निव करोति सः,जो मूढ़ है, वह धर्मकी इच्छा रखकर भी अधर्म करता है अथवा शोकमग्न-सा होकर अधर्मतुल्य धर्मका सम्पादन करता है। मूर्ख या अविवेकी मनुष्य न जाननेके कारण “मैं धर्म कर रहा हूँ” ऐसा समझकर अधर्म करता है और अधर्मकी इच्छा रखकर धर्म करता है, इस प्रकार अज्ञानपूर्वक दोनों तरहके कर्म करनेवाला देहधारी मनुष्य बारंबार जन्म लेता और मरता है
adharma-dharma-kāmo hi karoti hāvicakṣaṇaḥ | dharma vādharmasaṅkāśaṃ śocann iva karoti saḥ ||
Vyāsa said: The undiscerning person, even while desiring dharma, commits adharma; and at other times, as though grieving, he performs what appears to be dharma but is in fact akin to adharma. Lacking true discernment, he mistakes wrongdoing for righteousness and, conversely, may stumble into right action even while intending wrong. Such confused, ignorance-driven action binds the embodied being to repeated birth and death.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Without discernment (viveka), a person can commit adharma while believing it to be dharma, or perform dharma even while intending adharma. This confusion, rooted in ignorance, produces karmic bondage and perpetuates saṃsāra (repeated birth and death).
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa is explaining how moral error often arises not only from deliberate wickedness but from misjudgment—mistaking the nature of an act. He highlights the ethical danger of acting with unclear understanding and the spiritual consequence of such ignorance-driven action.