Shloka 24
अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः
Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving
अयोजयित्वा क्लेशेन जन प्लाव्य च दुष्कृतम् । मृत्युना55त्मकृते नेह कर्म कृत्वा55त्मशक्तिभि:
ayojayitvā kleśena janaṁ plāvya ca duṣkṛtam | mṛtyunā ātmakṛte neha karma kṛtvā ātmaśaktibhiḥ ||
पराशर बोले—किसी को कष्ट न देकर, तप और प्रायश्चित्त द्वारा अपने दुष्कृत को धो डालना चाहिए। फिर अपनी शक्ति के अनुसार शुभ कर्म करके, मनुष्य स्वेच्छा से मृत्यु को अंगीकार करे—अपने ही किए कर्मों के दुष्परिणामों से घसीटा न जाए।
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wrongdoing should be purified through penance and expiation without harming others; thereafter one should live by wholesome action within one’s capacity, meeting death with conscious acceptance rather than as a forced consequence of one’s own misdeeds.
In Śānti Parva’s dharma-instructional discourse, the sage Parāśara lays down a moral guideline: cleanse sin through prāyaścitta, avoid causing suffering to others, and then pursue good works proportionate to one’s strength, culminating in a composed acceptance of death.