Shloka 11
Akṣara–Kṣara Viveka: Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda (अक्षर-क्षर विवेकः)
स्वयं कृत्वा तु यः पापं शुभमेवानुतिष्ठति । प्रायश्षित्तं नर: कर्तुमुभयं सो$श्ुते पूृथक्
svayaṃ kṛtvā tu yaḥ pāpaṃ śubham evānutiṣṭhati | prāyaścittaṃ naraḥ kartuṃ ubhayaṃ so 'śnute pṛthak ||
Parāśara said: A man who, having knowingly committed a sin by his own act, then undertakes a good deed with the aim of expiation, experiences the results of both separately—the fruit of the good as good, and the fruit of the evil as evil.
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Expiatory good deeds do not erase the causal fruit of a knowingly committed sin; rather, the agent receives the merit of the good act and also separately undergoes the demerit of the sinful act.
In Parāśara’s instruction on dharma and expiation, he explains how karma operates: after committing wrongdoing, a person may perform auspicious acts as prāyaścitta, yet the outcomes of the two kinds of actions remain distinct and are experienced accordingly.