Shloka 53
Adhyāya 208: Aṅgirasī-kanyāḥ
Enumeration of Aṅgiras’ daughters and attribute-names
पापान्यबुद्धवेह पुरा कृतानि प्राग् धर्मशीलो5पि विहन्ति पश्चात् । धर्मो राजन् नुदते पूरुषाणां यत् कुर्वते पापमिह प्रमादात्,पहलेका धर्मशील पुरुष भी यदि अनजानमें यहाँ कोई पाप कर बैठे तो वह पीछे (निष्काम पुण्यकर्मद्वारा) उस पापको नष्ट कर देता है। राजन! मनुष्योंका धर्म ही यहाँ प्रमादवश किये हुए उनके पापोंको दूर कर देता है
pāpāny abuddhveha purā kṛtāni prāg dharmaśīlo 'pi vihanti paścāt | dharmo rājan nudate pūruṣāṇāṃ yat kurvate pāpam iha pramādāt ||
Sins committed earlier here through ignorance are later destroyed even by a person who is otherwise devoted to dharma. O King, it is dharma itself that drives away a man’s sins when, through heedlessness, he commits wrongdoing in this world—by the force of subsequent righteous conduct and inner rectitude.
व्याध उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even if a generally righteous person commits a fault unknowingly or through heedlessness, steadfast return to dharma can neutralize that wrongdoing; dharma functions as a cleansing corrective when one resumes righteous conduct.
The hunter-teacher (Vyādha) instructs the king, explaining how dharma operates in human life: inadvertent sins do not define a person permanently, because later adherence to dharma can dispel the effects of earlier mistakes.