Shloka 38
Adhyāya 287 — Janaka’s Inquiry on Śreyas, Abhayadāna, and Asaṅga
Non-attachment
निरारम्भो5प्ययमिह यथालब्धोपजीवन: । पुण्य॑ पुण्येषु विमल॑ पापं पापेषु चाप्तुयात्
nirārambho 'py ayam iha yathālabdhopajīvanaḥ | puṇyaṃ puṇyeṣu vimalaṃ pāpaṃ pāpeṣu cāpnuyāt ||
Nārada dit : Même l’homme qui n’entreprend rien de nouveau et vit ici de ce qui lui échoit—s’il demeure parmi les vertueux, il obtient un mérite pur ; mais s’il fréquente les méchants, il devient participant du péché. Le vers souligne que l’issue morale dépend non seulement de l’acte personnel, mais aussi de l’atmosphère éthique des fréquentations.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral and spiritual outcomes depend strongly on one’s company: even a personally non-initiating, minimally active person gains pure merit in the presence of the virtuous, and accrues sin by associating with the wicked.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Nārada delivers a didactic observation: he contrasts the results of keeping virtuous versus sinful company, using the example of a man who merely lives on what comes without initiating actions.