Shloka 24
Śāṇḍilī–Sumanā-saṃvāda: Sat-strī-samudācāra and Pati-dharma
Conduct of the Virtuous Wife
न वृत्तं मन्यते तस्य मन््यते न च पातकम् | तथा स्वकर्मनिर्वत्तं न पुण्यंन च पापकम्
na vṛttaṁ manyate tasya manyate na ca pātakam | tathā svakarmanirvṛttaṁ na puṇyaṁ na ca pāpakam ||
பிரம்மநிஷ்டனான அவனுக்கு எந்தச் செயலும் ‘புண்ணியம்’ எனக் கருதப்படாது; எந்தச் செயலும் ‘பாவம்’ எனவும் கருதப்படாது. அதுபோல, தன் கடமையால் நிகழும் செயலும் அவனுக்கு புண்ணியமுமல்ல பாவமுமல்ல; ஏனெனில் அவன் கர்த்தா-அகங்காரமற்றவன்.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person established in Brahman and free from the ego of doership is not bound by action: his deeds are not counted as merit or sin, because the binding factor—self-centered agency and attachment to results—has been dissolved.
Vyāsa is explaining a doctrinal point within Anuśāsana Parva: the spiritual status of the Brahman-abiding person. He clarifies that even when such a person performs his own duties (svakarma), those actions do not generate karmic merit or demerit.