Shloka 4
अव्यक्त–प्रकृति–इन्द्रियविचारः
The Unmanifest, Prakṛtis, and the Sense-Complex
छित्त्वा5धर्ममयं पाशं यदा धर्मेडभिरज्यते । दत्त्वा3भयकृतं दानं तदा सिद्धिमवाप्लुते
chittvā adharmamayaṁ pāśaṁ yadā dharme ’bhirajyate | dattvā abhayakṛtaṁ dānaṁ tadā siddhim avāpnute ||
Parāśara said: “When a person cuts through the noose made of unrighteousness and becomes devoted to dharma, and when he grants the gift of fearlessness to all beings, then at that very time he attains the highest spiritual fulfillment.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True spiritual success arises from breaking free of adharma’s binding attachments and actively embracing dharma, especially through abhayadāna—ensuring others’ safety and freedom from fear.
In a didactic passage of the Śānti Parva, the sage Parāśara instructs the listener that inner transformation (severing unrighteous bonds) must be matched by ethical action (granting fearlessness), which immediately yields the highest attainment.