Shloka 16
Akṣara–Kṣara Viveka: Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda (अक्षर-क्षर विवेकः)
भवत्यल्पफलं कर्म सेवितं नित्यमुल्बणम् । अबुद्धिपूर्व धर्मज्ञ कृतमुग्रेण कर्मणा
bhavaty alpaphalaṁ karma sevitaṁ nityam ulbaṇam | abuddhipūrvaṁ dharmajña kṛtam ugreṇa karmaṇā ||
اے دھرم کے جاننے والے! سخت طریقے سے کیا گیا عمل اگر سمجھ بوجھ کے بغیر ہو اور پھر بھی مسلسل کیا جاتا رہے تو وہ بھی نتیجہ دیتا ہے—مگر اس کا پھل بہت تھوڑا ہوتا ہے۔
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions inevitably bear fruit, but intention and awareness modulate the magnitude of the result: wrongdoing done knowingly is more culpable, while the same done in ignorance yields a comparatively smaller (though still real) consequence—especially if it becomes habitual.
In Śānti Parva, Parāśara instructs King Janaka on ethical causality. He explains how repeated harsh conduct and violent acts, even when done without clear understanding, still generate karmic results, though less than deliberate wrongdoing.