Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 24
Śāṇḍilī–Sumanā-saṃvāda: Sat-strī-samudācāra and Pati-dharma
Conduct of the Virtuous Wife
न वृत्तं मन्यते तस्य मन््यते न च पातकम् | तथा स्वकर्मनिर्वत्तं न पुण्यंन च पापकम्
na vṛttaṁ manyate tasya manyate na ca pātakam | tathā svakarmanirvṛttaṁ na puṇyaṁ na ca pāpakam ||
उस ब्रह्मनिष्ठ पुरुष के लिए कोई कर्म ‘पुण्य’ नहीं माना जाता और न ही कोई ‘पाप’। इसी प्रकार स्वधर्म से उत्पन्न कर्म भी उसके लिए न पुण्य होता है न पाप; क्योंकि वह कर्तापन के अभिमान से रहित होता है।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person established in Brahman and free from the ego of doership is not bound by action: his deeds are not counted as merit or sin, because the binding factor—self-centered agency and attachment to results—has been dissolved.
Vyāsa is explaining a doctrinal point within Anuśāsana Parva: the spiritual status of the Brahman-abiding person. He clarifies that even when such a person performs his own duties (svakarma), those actions do not generate karmic merit or demerit.