Shloka 43
Adhyāya 287 — Janaka’s Inquiry on Śreyas, Abhayadāna, and Asaṅga
Non-attachment
आकाशबमस्था ्र॒वं यत्र दोषं ब्रूयुविपश्चिताम् । आत्मपूजाभिकामो वै को वसेत् तत्र पण्डित:
ākāśa-bam asthāśravaṃ yatra doṣaṃ brūyuḥ vipaścitām | ātma-pūjābhikāmo vai ko vaset tatra paṇḍitaḥ ||
ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಜನರು ಯಾವುದೇ ಆಧಾರವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ವಿವೇಕಿ ಪಂಡಿತರ ಮೇಲೆ ನಿಶ್ಚಯವಾಗಿ ದೋಷಾರೋಪಣೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೋ—ಆತ್ಮಗೌರವ ಬಯಸುವ ಪಂಡಿತನು ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರು ವಾಸಿಸುವರು?
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A society that indulges in groundless fault-finding of the wise is ethically degraded; a person who values dignity and right conduct should avoid such an environment, since slander corrodes dharma and undermines learning and virtue.
Nārada delivers a pointed observation about social life: he describes a country where people confidently accuse discerning men without evidence, and he asks rhetorically who among the learned—seeking self-respect—would remain there.