Shloka 20
कपिल–स्यूमरश्मि संवादः
Kapila and Syūmaraśmi on Renunciation, Householder Support, and Epistemic Authority
प्रणष्ट: शाश्वृतो धर्मस्त्वनाचारेण मोहित: । तेन वैद्यस्तपस्वी वा बलवान् वा विमुहयते
praṇaṣṭaḥ śāśvato dharmas tv anācāreṇa mohitaḥ | tena vaidyaḥ tapasvī vā balavān vā vimuhyate ||
অনাচার ও কুপ্রবৃত্তির মোহে শাশ্বত ধর্ম যেন লুপ্ত হয়ে যায়; সেই বিভ্রান্তিতে বৈদ্য, তপস্বী কিংবা বলবান ব্যক্তিও পথভ্রষ্ট হয়।
तुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not merely a doctrine to be known; it must be protected through right conduct (ācāra). When conduct becomes corrupt, even the ‘eternal’ dharma appears lost, and people who seem qualified—learned, ascetic, or powerful—can still fall into moral confusion.
Tulādhāra is instructing his interlocutor in the Shānti Parva, emphasizing that ethical clarity depends on lived practice. He warns that social and personal misconduct can cloud judgment so deeply that even respected figures may be misled.