Shloka 14
नरनारायण-नारदसंवादः
Nara-Nārāyaṇa–Nārada Discourse on Vision, Elements, and Entry into Vāsudeva
अपराध॑ समाचक्ष्व पुरुषस्य स्वभावतः: । शुक्रमन्यत्र सम्भूतं पुनरन्यत्र गच्छति,इसमें स्वभावत: पुरुषका ही अपराध (प्रारब्ध-दोष) समझो। वीर्य अन्यत्र उत्पन्न होता है और संतानोत्पादनके लिये अन्यत्र जाता है
nārada uvāca | aparādhaṃ samācakṣva puruṣasya svabhāvataḥ | śukram anyatra sambhūtaṃ punar anyatra gacchati |
Narada said: “Recognize this as the man’s own fault, arising from his very nature and destiny. The generative seed is produced in one place, yet it goes elsewhere for the begetting of offspring.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse places moral responsibility on the individual: certain lapses are to be understood as arising from one’s own nature (and, by implication, one’s karmic disposition), rather than being blamed entirely on external circumstances. It points to the wandering tendency of desire and the need for restraint and ethical accountability.
Narada is instructing his listener within the Shanti Parva’s didactic setting, using a physiological image—seed arising in one place and going elsewhere—to illustrate how desire seeks outlets and how a person’s own nature can lead to transgression, thus requiring vigilance and self-governance.