Shloka 26

Devanagari script

यद्यागच्छन्ति संसारं पु$नर्योनिषु तादृशा: । न लिप्यन्ते पापकृत्यै:ः कदाचित्‌ कर्मयोनित:,ऐसे पुण्यात्मा पुरुष यदि कभी पुनः संसारकी कर्माधिकार युक्त योनियोंमें आते या जन्म ग्रहण करते हैं तो वे उस योनिके सम्बन्धसे पापकर्मोद्वारा लिप्त नहीं होते हैं

Transliteration

yady āgacchanti saṃsāraṃ punar yoniṣu tādṛśāḥ | na lipyante pāpakṛtyaiḥ kadācit karmayonitaḥ ||

Translation

यदि ते पुण्यात्मानः कदाचित् पुनः संसारं यान्ति कर्माधिकारयुक्तासु योनिषु च जायन्ते, तदा देहसम्बन्धमात्रेण पापकृत्यैः कदाचिन्न लिप्यन्ते; ज्ञानशुद्ध्या तेषां कर्मक्षेत्रदोषा नोपलिप्यन्ते।

Word by Word

यदिif

आगच्छन्तिthey come/arrive

संसारम्worldly existence, transmigration

पुनःagain

योनिषुin wombs/births/species

तादृशाःsuch (persons)

नnot

लिप्यन्तेthey are tainted/defiled

पापकृत्यैःby sinful deeds

कदाचित्ever, at any time

कर्मयोनितःfrom (the fact of) being born in a karma-based womb/source

Speaker

कपिल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kapila

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Kapila teaches that the truly purified or realized person is not morally stained simply by taking birth again in the world of action; inner detachment and knowledge prevent sinful adhesion (lepa) even amid karmic conditions.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Kapila is explaining how certain exalted persons may still appear in embodied life, yet remain untouched by wrongdoing; the verse clarifies the distinction between being in a karmic field and being bound by it.