Shloka 15
Akṣara–Kṣara Viveka: Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda (अक्षर-क्षर विवेकः)
यथा सूक्ष्माणि कर्माणि फलन्तीह यथातथम् । बुद्धियुक्तानि तानीह कृतानि मनसा सह
yathā sūkṣmāṇi karmāṇi phalantīha yathātatham | buddhiyuktāni tānīha kṛtāni manasā saha ||
O Janaka, knower of dharma: just as even the subtlest actions in this world—when done with the mind and guided by discernment—inevitably ripen into results suited to their nature, so too do harsh deeds such as violence. Even when a dreadful sin is committed unknowingly, if it continues to be formed and accumulated, it still yields its consequence; only this differs: compared with an act done knowingly and deliberately, the fruit of an unintentional act is far smaller.
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
All actions, even very subtle ones, inevitably produce results suited to their nature. Intention matters: wrongdoing done unknowingly still bears fruit, but its consequence is lighter than the fruit of deliberate, knowing wrongdoing.
In Śānti Parva, the sage Parāśara instructs King Janaka on ethical causality: how deeds—mental and physical—generate karmic results, and how knowledge/intent affects the weight of those results.