Shloka 48
Adhyāya 287 — Janaka’s Inquiry on Śreyas, Abhayadāna, and Asaṅga
Non-attachment
येन खट्वां समारूढ: कर्मणानुशयी भवेत् | आदितस्तन्न कर्तव्यमिच्छता भवमात्मन:
yena khaṭvāṃ samārūḍhaḥ karmaṇānuśayī bhavet | āditas tan na kartavyam icchatā bhavam ātmanaḥ ||
Wika ni Nārada: “Kung dahil sa isang gawa ay mauuwi ang tao sa ‘pag-akyat sa higaan’—nakahandusay na walang magawa sa dulo ng buhay—habang pasan pa rin ang latak ng karma, kung gayon ang tunay na naghahangad ng pangmatagalang kapakanan para sa sarili ay huwag nang simulan pa ang gayong gawa.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Choose actions from the outset that do not leave a lingering karmic residue; a person seeking true self-welfare should avoid deeds that will bind the mind with regret, attachment, or unresolved consequences at life’s end.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Nārada delivers counsel on right conduct: he warns that actions leading to bondage and ‘deathbed helplessness’ with karmic remainder should be rejected at the very beginning by one intent on genuine good.