Shloka 29
Jñāna-yoga and Karma-phala: Manu–Bṛhaspati on Akṣara and the Limits of Mantra
पापी मनुष्यका पापके द्वारा छिपाया हुआ पाप पुनः उसे पापमें ही लगाता है और धर्मात्माका धर्मतः गुप्त रक्खा हुआ धर्म उसे पुनः धर्ममें ही प्रवृत्त करता है ।।
pāpaṁ kṛtaṁ na smaratīha mūḍho vivartamānasya tad eti kartuḥ | rāhur yathā candram upaiti cāpi tathābudhaḥ pāpam upaiti karma ||
Bhishma berkata: Orang yang dungu tidak mengingat dosa yang telah ia perbuat; namun bila ia terus bergelimang dalam keburukan, dosa itu sendiri akan kembali mendatangi pelakunya. Seperti Rāhu yang dengan sendirinya bergerak menuju bulan, demikian pula dosa yang lahir dari perbuatan mendekati si bodoh dan mencengkeramnya.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sin is not neutralized by being forgotten or hidden; it inevitably returns to its agent. Persisting in wrongdoing draws its consequences closer, just as Rāhu inevitably approaches the moon.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira about moral causality. He uses the well-known image of Rāhu eclipsing the moon to illustrate how one’s own misdeeds pursue and overtake the wrongdoer.