Shloka 115
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
न स्तम्भी न च मानी स्याज्नाप्रसन्नो न विस्मित: । मित्रामित्रसमो मैत्रो यः स धर्मविदुत्तम:
na stambhī na ca mānī syāj jñāprasanno na vismitaḥ | mitrāmitra-samo maitraḥ yaḥ sa dharma-vid uttamaḥ ||
Maheśvara sprach: Man soll weder hochmütig noch selbstgefällig sein; weder im eigenen Wissen schwelgen noch sich in staunender Selbstdarstellung gefallen. Wer Freund und Feind gleichmütig begegnet und doch wahrhaft freundlich gesinnt ist—der ist der höchste Kenner des Dharma.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The highest understanding of dharma is shown through inner discipline: freedom from arrogance and vanity, no smugness about one’s learning, and steady impartiality toward friend and foe combined with genuine goodwill.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Śrīmaheśvara is presented as instructing on righteous conduct. This verse defines the marks of an exemplary dharma-knower by listing the attitudes he avoids and the balanced, benevolent stance he maintains.