Shloka 20
Akṣara–Kṣara Viveka: Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda (अक्षर-क्षर विवेकः)
सतोये<न्यत् तु यत् तोयं तस्मिन्नेव प्रसिच्यते । वृद्धे वृद्धिमवाप्रोति सलिले सलिलं यथा
satoye'nyat tu yat toyaṃ tasminneva prasicyate | vṛddhe vṛddhim avāpnoti salile salilaṃ yathā rājann |
パラーシャラは言った。「王よ、すでに水のある器にさらに水を注げば、内の水は新たに加えられた水と溶け合って増える。これと同じく、以前に積み重ねた功徳も、同じ志で新たな功徳ある行いをなすとき増大する。旧い徳と新しい徳は合一し、その増益によって人はますます功徳に富む者となる。」
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Merit grows cumulatively: earlier virtuous actions are not replaced by later ones; rather, new good deeds merge with stored merit and increase it, like water added to water.
Parāśara addresses a king and uses a simple physical analogy—pouring water into an already water-filled vessel—to explain how continued righteous conduct amplifies one’s accumulated virtue.