Shloka 14
देवतापितृप्रश्नः — Nārada at Badarīāśrama: the ultimate referent of daiva and pitṛ worship
आद्यकालिकया बुद्धया दूरे श्व इति निर्भया: । सर्वभक्ष्या न पश्यन्ति कर्मभूमिमचेतस:
ādyakālikayā buddhyā dūre śva iti nirbhayāḥ | sarvabhakṣyā na paśyanti karmabhūmim acetasaḥ ||
Disse Vyāsa: Aqueles que, com intelecto míope fixo apenas no instante presente, imaginam que as consequências futuras estão muito distantes e por isso vivem sem temor—entregando-se até ao que não deveria ser comido—tais insensatos não percebem o verdadeiro significado deste campo de ação (a vida humana), onde os atos dão fruto e a responsabilidade moral opera.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Heedless people, focused only on immediate pleasure, treat consequences as distant and therefore act without restraint; such lack of discernment prevents them from recognizing human life as a karmabhūmi—an arena where actions have moral weight and inevitable results.
In the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa is describing a type of person whose present-centered thinking leads to fearlessness born of negligence, indulgence in improper consumption, and blindness to the ethical seriousness of action and its fruits.