Shloka 17
Akṣara–Kṣara Viveka: Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda (अक्षर-क्षर विवेकः)
कृतानि यानि कर्माणि दैवतैर्मुनिभिस्तथा । न चरेत् तानि धर्मात्मा श्रुत्वा चापि न कुत्सयेत्
kṛtāni yāni karmāṇi daivatair munibhis tathā | na caret tāni dharmātmā śrutvā cāpi na kutsayet ||
Kahit may ilang gawa na nagawa ng mga diyos at ng mga muni, ang taong matuwid ay hindi dapat tularan ang mga iyon (kung ang mga iyon ay di nararapat). At kahit marinig man niya ang tungkol dito, hindi rin siya dapat mahulog sa paghatol at paninira sa mga diyos o muni.
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not treat the actions of exalted beings as automatic permission for oneself: a dharmic person must use moral discernment and avoid imitating improper deeds, while also maintaining reverence and restraint by not maligning gods or sages upon hearing such accounts.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Parāśara gives a guideline for ethical judgment: stories about deities and ṛṣis may include questionable acts, but the listener should neither copy them nor turn that knowledge into blame or contempt toward those revered figures.