Shloka 19
Akṣara–Kṣara Viveka: Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda (अक्षर-क्षर विवेकः)
नवे कपाले सलिल संन्यस्तं हीयते यथा । नवेतरे तथाभावं प्राप्नोति सुखभावितम्
nave kapāle salila-saṃnyastaṃ hīyate yathā | navetare tathābhāvaṃ prāpnoti sukha-bhāvitam ||
Parāśara berkata: “Seperti air yang dituangkan ke dalam tempayan tanah liat yang baru dibuat tetapi belum dibakar akan meresap dan hilang, sedangkan air yang disimpan dalam tempayan yang dibakar sempurna tetap utuh; demikian juga pahala yang membawa kebahagiaan, lahir daripada perbuatan baik, hanya teguh berkekalan apabila bersemayam dalam batin (akal dan hati) yang matang dan disucikan.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Merit and happiness gained from good actions become stable only when supported by a mature, purified mind; otherwise they ‘leak away’ due to inner impurity, instability, or lack of self-control.
Parāśara instructs through a household metaphor: an unbaked clay pot cannot retain water, but a fired pot can. Likewise, spiritual or ethical gains remain only in a well-formed inner character.