Shloka 32
अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā
पराशर उवाच असंशयं महाराज उभयं दोषकारकम् | कर्म चैव हि जातिश्न विशेष तु निशामय,पराशरजीने कहा--महाराज! इसमें संदेह नहीं कि कर्म और जाति दोनों ही दोषकारक होते हैं; परंतु इसमें जो विशेष बात है, उसे बताता हूँ, सुनो
parāśara uvāca | asaṁśayaṁ mahārāja ubhayaṁ doṣakārakam | karma caiva hi jātiś ca viśeṣas tu niśāmaya ||
Parāśara berkata: “Wahai Maharaja, tiada keraguan: kedua-duanya—perbuatan dan kelahiran—boleh menjadi punca cela. Namun ada perbezaan yang penting antara keduanya; dengarlah baik-baik ketika aku menjelaskannya.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Parāśara frames an ethical inquiry: both conduct (karma) and birth/lineage (jāti) can be sources of blame, but he signals that a key distinction must be understood—implying that moral evaluation should not be simplistic and that the relative weight of action versus birth will be clarified.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, the sage Parāśara addresses a king and begins a structured explanation about moral fault, introducing the topic that both deeds and birth can be implicated, and inviting the listener to attend to the nuanced conclusion he is about to present.