अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः
Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving
अयोजयित्वा क्लेशेन जन प्लाव्य च दुष्कृतम् । मृत्युना55त्मकृते नेह कर्म कृत्वा55त्मशक्तिभि:
ayojayitvā kleśena janaṁ plāvya ca duṣkṛtam | mṛtyunā ātmakṛte neha karma kṛtvā ātmaśaktibhiḥ ||
波罗舍罗说道:“不令任何人受苦,当以苦行与忏悔赎罪(prāyaścitta)洗除自身过失;继而量力行诸善业,便可自愿受死——而非被自己所造之业果所逼迫而至。”
पराशर उवाच
Wrongdoing should be purified through penance and expiation without harming others; thereafter one should live by wholesome action within one’s capacity, meeting death with conscious acceptance rather than as a forced consequence of one’s own misdeeds.
In Śānti Parva’s dharma-instructional discourse, the sage Parāśara lays down a moral guideline: cleanse sin through prāyaścitta, avoid causing suffering to others, and then pursue good works proportionate to one’s strength, culminating in a composed acceptance of death.