Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 42
अव्यक्त–प्रकृति–इन्द्रियविचारः
The Unmanifest, Prakṛtis, and the Sense-Complex
पूर्वजन्मके किये हुए सम्पूर्ण शुभाशुभ कर्म जीवका अनुसरण करते हैं। इस प्रकार प्राप्त हुई परिस्थितिको अपने कर्मोंका फल जानकर जिसका मन अन्तर्मुख हो गया है, वह अपनी बुद्धिको वैसी शुभ प्रेरणा देता है जिससे भविष्यमें दुःख न भोगना पड़े ।।
pūrvajanmake kṛte sampūrṇa-śubhāśubha-karmāṇi jīvam anusaranti | evaṃ prāptāṃ paristhitiṃ sva-karmaphalaṃ jñātvā yasyāntaḥkaraṇaṃ antarmukhaṃ bhavati sa buddhiṃ tādṛśīṃ śubhāṃ prerayati yayā bhaviṣyati duḥkhaṃ na bhoktavyam || vyavasāyaṃ samāśritya sahāyān yo ’bhigacchati | na tasya kaścid ārambhaḥ kadācid avasīdati ||
Parāśara said: All the auspicious and inauspicious deeds performed in a former birth follow the living being. Recognizing one’s present condition as the fruit of one’s own actions, the person whose mind turns inward directs the intellect toward wholesome resolve, so that suffering need not be endured in the future. And whoever, relying on firm determination and sustained effort, gathers helpers suited to the task—none of that person’s undertakings ever collapses or comes to nothing.
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should read present circumstances as the ripened result of past deeds, turn the mind inward for self-correction, and cultivate wholesome resolve; with steady determination and appropriate support, one’s endeavors need not fail.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on conduct and inner discipline, the sage Parāśara teaches about karmic causality and the practical ethic of resolute effort supported by suitable allies.