Shloka 26
अज्ञान–लोभयोः परस्परहेतुत्वम्
Mutual Causality of Ignorance and Greed
ये दुर्गन्धीनि सेवते तथागन्धा भवन्ति ते । तपश्चर्यापर: सद्यः पापाद् विपरिमुच्यते
ye durgandhīni sevate tathāgandhā bhavanti te | tapaścaryāparaḥ sadyaḥ pāpād viparimucyate ||
Śaunaka berkata: Mereka yang menikmati dan bergaul dengan sesuatu yang busuk akan membawa bau itu; mereka menjadi seperti apa yang mereka dekati. Demikian juga, sesiapa yang tekun dalam tapas—pengekangan diri dan disiplin rohani—akan serta-merta dilepaskan daripada dosa. Ajaran ini menegaskan kausaliti moral: tabiat dan pergaulan yang dipilih membentuk watak dan keadaan, sedangkan tapas menyucikan dan membebaskan.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person becomes like what they repeatedly consume or associate with; impure habits breed impurity, while tapas—self-restraint and disciplined spiritual effort—purifies and can free one from sin.
Śaunaka delivers a didactic maxim using the analogy of fragrance and stench to explain moral causality and the purifying power of austerity within the Shānti Parva’s broader instruction on dharma and right conduct.