Shloka 32
Prāyaścitta-vidhāna: Tapas, Dāna, Vrata, and Proportional Expiation (प्रायश्चित्तविधानम्)
पिष्टस्य चेक्षुशाकानां विकारा: पयसस्तथा
piṣṭasya cekṣuśākānāṃ vikārāḥ payasas tathā
Vyāsa said: “Just as flour and preparations of sugarcane undergo transformations, and milk too changes into various products, so do things in the world assume different forms while remaining rooted in their underlying substance.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses everyday examples—flour, sugarcane/vegetable produce, and milk—to illustrate vikāra (transformation): many forms arise from one underlying basis. Ethically, it supports a reflective view that external changes should not obscure the deeper reality behind appearances.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Vyāsa is explaining a philosophical point through homely analogies, guiding the listener to understand how worldly diversity can be seen as modifications of a more fundamental substance or principle.