Shloka 53
देवतापितृप्रश्नः — Nārada at Badarīāśrama: the ultimate referent of daiva and pitṛ worship
परत्रगामिकस्य ते कृताकृतस्य कर्मण: । न साक्षि आत्मना समो नृणामिहास्ति कश्नन,परलोककी यात्रा करते समय तुम्हारे किये और न किये हुए कर्मका साक्षी आत्माके समान मनुष्योंमें दूसरा कोई नहीं है
paratragāmikasya te kṛtākṛtasya karmaṇaḥ | na sākṣī ātmanā samo nṛṇām ihāsti kaścana ||
Sinabi ni Vyāsa: “Sa paglalakbay mo patungo sa kabilang daigdig, tungkol sa mga gawa mong nagawa at sa mga hindi mo nagawa, walang saksi sa mga tao rito na kapantay ng Sarili (Ātman). Ang panloob na Sarili lamang ang tunay na patotoo sa iyong pananagutang moral, higit sa lahat ng panlabas na tumitingin.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
That the Self (ātman) is the supreme witness of one’s actions and omissions; external approval or concealment cannot erase moral responsibility, especially when one faces the consequences in the hereafter.
Vyāsa delivers an ethical instruction: as a person approaches death and the ‘journey to the next world,’ the decisive testimony about their life is not social opinion but the inner Self that knows the truth of what was done and what was neglected.