Shloka 41
Prāyaścitta and Contextual Non-Culpability (प्रायश्चित्त-निमित्त-अदोषवाद)
तस्माद् दानेन तपसा कर्मणा च फल॑ शुभम् | वर्धयेदशुभं कृत्वा यथा स्यादतिरेकवान्
tasmād dānena tapasā karmaṇā ca phalaṁ śubham | vardhayed aśubhaṁ kṛtvā yathā syād atirekavān ||
વ્યાસે કહ્યું—અતએવ જો મનુષ્યથી કોઈ અશુભ કર્મ થઈ જાય, તો દાન, તપ અને સત્કર્મ દ્વારા શુભ ફળની વૃદ્ધિ કરવી જોઈએ, જેથી શુભ વધુ થઈ અશુભ દબાઈ જાય.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
If one commits a harmful act, one should deliberately cultivate greater merit through charity, austerity, and righteous deeds, so that wholesome results outweigh and subdue the unwholesome—an ethical strategy of self-correction rather than despair.
In the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa states a practical rule of dharma: when a lapse into aśubha occurs, the remedy is to intensify śubha conduct—dāna, tapas, and good works—so the balance of one’s karmic fruits becomes predominantly auspicious.