Shloka 39
Adhyāya 287 — Janaka’s Inquiry on Śreyas, Abhayadāna, and Asaṅga
Non-attachment
अपाममग्नेस्तथेन्दोश्न स्पर्श वेदयते यथा । तथा पश्यामहे स्पर्शमुभयो: पुण्यपापयो:,जैसे जल, अग्नि और चन्द्रमाकी किरणोंके संसर्गमें आनेपर मनुष्य क्रमश: शीत, उष्ण और सुखदायी स्पर्शका अनुभव करता है, उसी प्रकार हम पुण्यात्मा और पापियोंके संगसे पुण्य और पाप दोनोंके स्पर्शका प्रत्यक्ष अनुभव करते हैं
apām agnes tathendoś ca sparśaṁ vedayate yathā | tathā paśyāmahe sparśam ubhayoḥ puṇyapāpayoḥ ||
Nārada said: “Just as a person distinctly feels the touch of water, of fire, and of the moon’s rays—cool, hot, and soothing—so too do we directly experience the ‘touch’ of both merit and sin through association with the virtuous and with the wicked.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral qualities are not merely abstract: like physical sensations, the effects of virtue and sin become directly ‘felt’ through contact and companionship. Therefore, one should seek the company of the virtuous and avoid the company of the wicked.
Nārada delivers a didactic analogy: as water, fire, and moonlight produce distinct tactile experiences, so association with good or bad people produces perceptible ethical consequences—merit or demerit—upon one’s life and mind.