Shloka 23
त्र्यशीतितमः सर्गः (Sarga 83)
Hanumān Reports Sītā’s ‘Slaying’; Rāma Collapses; Lakṣmaṇa’s Counter-Discourse on Dharma and Artha
अथवाविहितेनायंहन्यतेहन्तिवापरम् ।विधिरालिप्यतेतेन न स पापेनकर्मणा ।।6.83.23।।
athavā vihitena ayaṃ hanyate hanti vā param |
vidhir ālipyate tena na sa pāpena karmaṇā ||6.83.23||
یا پھر جو کچھ ودھی/تقدیر نے مقرر کیا ہے اسی کے مطابق آدمی مارا جاتا ہے یا دوسرے کو مارتا ہے؛ اس سے آلودہ تو ودھی ہوتی ہے، انسان نہیں—یہ پاپی کرم اس پر نہیں لگتا۔
"Or else if a man is destroyed by killing another, destiny which is engendered by the sinful action suffers and not the doer of sinful action."
FAQs
It proposes determinism: actions are driven by destiny, shifting moral responsibility away from the agent—an idea dharma-based ethics typically resists.
The speaker offers an alternative to karmic responsibility: if everything is ‘ordained,’ then blame attaches to fate rather than the doer.
Moral agency (kartṛtva) is the contested value; the dharmic stance upholds accountable choice rather than excusing wrongdoing as fate.