Shloka 7
अव्यक्त–प्रकृति–इन्द्रियविचारः
The Unmanifest, Prakṛtis, and the Sense-Complex
नाधर्म: श्लिष्यते प्राज्ञं पय: पुष्करपर्णवत् । अप्राज्ञमधिकं पापं श्लिष्यते जतुकाष्ठवत्
nādharmo śliṣyate prājñaṃ payaḥ puṣkaraparṇavat | aprājñam adhikaṃ pāpaṃ śliṣyate jatukāṣṭhavat ||
“Adharma does not cling to a wise person, just as water does not adhere to a lotus leaf. But in an unwise person, sin clings all the more—like lac sticking fast to wood.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wisdom and discernment prevent adharma from taking hold: the wise remain inwardly untainted even when exposed to wrongdoing, whereas ignorance makes one susceptible, so sin adheres and grows.
Parāśara is delivering moral instruction in the Śānti Parva, using two vivid comparisons—water on a lotus leaf and lac on wood—to explain how character and understanding determine whether wrongdoing ‘sticks’ to a person.