Shloka 38
Adhyāya 287 — Janaka’s Inquiry on Śreyas, Abhayadāna, and Asaṅga
Non-attachment
निरारम्भो5प्ययमिह यथालब्धोपजीवन: । पुण्य॑ पुण्येषु विमल॑ पापं पापेषु चाप्तुयात्
nirārambho 'py ayam iha yathālabdhopajīvanaḥ | puṇyaṃ puṇyeṣu vimalaṃ pāpaṃ pāpeṣu cāpnuyāt ||
那罗陀言：即便有人不兴新业，只以所得随缘度日——若居于贤善之众，便得清净福德；若与恶人相杂，则分担其罪。此偈强调：道德之果不唯由个人所作，亦为所交往之伦理氛围所塑。
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral and spiritual outcomes depend strongly on one’s company: even a personally non-initiating, minimally active person gains pure merit in the presence of the virtuous, and accrues sin by associating with the wicked.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Nārada delivers a didactic observation: he contrasts the results of keeping virtuous versus sinful company, using the example of a man who merely lives on what comes without initiating actions.