Shloka 12
Prāyaścitta-vidhāna: Tapas, Dāna, Vrata, and Proportional Expiation (प्रायश्चित्तविधानम्)
द्विविधौ चाप्युभावेतौ धर्माधर्मा विजानताम् | अप्रवृत्ति: प्रवृत्तिश्न द्वैविध्य॑ लोकवेदयो:,“इस प्रकार विज्ञ पुरुषोंकी दृष्टिमें धर्म और अधर्म दोनों ही देश-कालके भेदसे दो-दो प्रकारके हैं। धर्माधर्ममें जो अप्रवृत्ति और प्रवृत्ति होती हैं, ये भी लोक और वेदके भेदसे दो प्रकारकी हैं (अर्थात् लौकिकी अप्रवृत्ति और लौकिकी प्रवृत्ति, वैदिकी अप्रवृत्ति और वैदिकी प्रवृत्ति)
dvividhau cāpy ubhāv etau dharmādharmau vijānatām | apravṛttiḥ pravṛttiś ca dvaividhyaṃ lokavedayoḥ ||
Vyāsa bersabda: “Bagi mereka yang sungguh memahami, dharma dan adharma masing-masing ada dua macam, berubah menurut desa dan kala. Demikian pula apravṛtti (menahan diri) dan pravṛtti (bergiat dalam tindakan) juga dua macam menurut pembedaan duniawi dan Veda: ada penahanan diri duniawi dan tindakan duniawi, serta penahanan diri Veda dan tindakan Veda.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma and adharma cannot be judged in a single, rigid way; they are understood as twofold when viewed through differences of place and time, and also through the distinction between worldly norms (loka) and Vedic/scriptural injunctions (veda). Similarly, both abstention (apravṛtti) and engagement (pravṛtti) have worldly and Vedic forms.
Vyāsa is instructing the listener in the Śānti Parva’s ethical discourse, refining how moral categories should be interpreted: action and restraint, and even dharma versus adharma, must be evaluated with attention to context and to the differing authorities of social practice and Vedic teaching.