Shloka 6

Akṣara–Kṣara Viveka: Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda (अक्षर-क्षर विवेकः)

Devanagari script

अज्ञानाद्धि कृतं पापं तपसैवाभिनिर्णदेत्‌ । पापं हि कर्म फलति पापमेव स्वयं कृतम्‌ । तस्मात्‌ पापं न सेवेत कर्म दुःखफलोदयम्‌

Transliteration

ajñānād dhi kṛtaṃ pāpaṃ tapasāivābhinirṇudet | pāpaṃ hi karma phalati pāpam eva svayaṃ kṛtam | tasmāt pāpaṃ na seveta karma duḥkhaphalodayam |

Translation

Parāśara said: “A sin committed out of ignorance should be driven out by austerity (tapas). For the evil deed one has done ripens only as evil—bearing the form of suffering. Therefore one should never resort to sinful action, for it gives rise to painful results.”

Word by Word

• {'ajñānāt': 'from ignorance, due to lack of true knowledge', 'hi': 'indeed, for', 'kṛtam': 'done, committed', 'pāpam': 'sin, demerit, wrongful act', 'tapasā': 'by tapas

• austerity, disciplined penance', 'eva': 'alone, indeed, precisely', 'abhinirṇudet (abhinirṇud-et)': 'should drive out, should expel completely', 'karma': 'action, deed', 'phalati': 'bears fruit, ripens into results', 'svayam': 'by oneself, personally', 'tasmāt': 'therefore', 'na seveta': 'should not practice/indulge in

• should not resort to', 'duḥkha': 'pain, suffering', 'phala': 'fruit, result', 'udayam': 'arising, emergence'}

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even if wrongdoing arises from ignorance, it still produces painful consequences; therefore one should avoid sinful acts and, if such a fault has occurred, counteract it through tapas (austerity and disciplined self-restraint) to cleanse oneself.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, the sage Parāśara is speaking, emphasizing moral causality: actions inevitably ripen into corresponding results, so one must refrain from pāpa and adopt purificatory discipline when errors occur.