Shloka 39
यस्तस्य पुरुष: पापं मनसाप्यनुचिन्तयेत् । असंशयमिह क्लिष्ट: प्रेत्यापि नरकं व्रजेत्,जो पुरुष मनसे भी राजाके अनिष्टका चिन्तन करता है, वह निश्चय ही इह लोकमें कष्ट भोगता है और मरनेके बाद भी नरकमें पड़ता है
yas tasya puruṣaḥ pāpaṃ manasāpy anucintayet | asaṃśayam iha kliṣṭaḥ pretyāpi narakaṃ vrajet ||
Whoever harbors sinful intent against him—even merely in the mind—will, without doubt, suffer distress in this very world; and after death as well, he will go to hell.
वसुमना उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that moral responsibility includes one’s inner life: even mentally entertaining sinful or malicious thoughts brings suffering here and leads to hell after death. Intention (mānasa-bhāva) is treated as karmically potent, not merely external action.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Vasumanā states a warning about the consequences of harboring evil thoughts toward another (implicitly a ruler/authority figure in the received Hindi gloss). The statement functions as ethical counsel: restrain malice at the level of thought.