अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः
Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving
कथं न विप्रणश्येम योनितो<स्या इति प्रभो । कुर्वन्ति धर्म मनुजा: श्रुतिप्रामाण्यदर्शनात्
kathaṁ na vipraṇaśyema yonito ’syā iti prabho | kurvanti dharma manuṣyāḥ śrutiprāmāṇyadarśanāt ||
パラーシャラは言った。「主よ、『いかにして滅びず、いかにしてこの人身より下の境涯へ堕ちぬようにできようか』と案じ、ヴェーダの啓示(シュルティ)の権威を省みて、人々はダルマを修めるのである。」
पराशर उवाच
Humans practice dharma with the aim of not degenerating from the precious human condition, grounding their conduct in the recognized authority of śruti (Vedic revelation) as a reliable guide for right living.
Parāśara addresses a ‘lord’ and explains the motivation behind human religious-ethical practice: people, fearing downfall into lower births and trusting śruti as authoritative, undertake dharma as a deliberate discipline.