Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 168 Shloka 2 - Mahabharata | German | Vedapath

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Shloka 2

Devanagari script

निर्णये वा महाबुद्धे सर्वधर्मविदां वर । प्रत्यक्षमागमो वेति कि तयो: कारणं भवेत्‌

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: nirṇaye vā mahābuddhe sarvadharmavidāṃ vara | pratyakṣam āgamo veti kiṃ tayoḥ kāraṇaṃ bhavet ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Großgesinnter, der Beste unter allen, die den Dharma kennen! Wenn eine Frage des Dharma zu entscheiden ist, soll man sich auf unmittelbare Wahrnehmung (pratyakṣa) stützen oder auf die autoritative Überlieferung (āgama)? Welche von beiden ist der entscheidende Grund, um eine lehrmäßige Schlussfolgerung festzusetzen?“

Word by Word

निर्णयेin (the matter of) decision/determination

वाor

महाबुद्धेO great-intellect (one)

सर्वधर्मविदाम्of all knowers of dharma

वरO best/excellent (one)

प्रत्यक्षम्direct perception (as a pramāṇa)

आगमःscriptural testimony/tradition (āgama)

वाor

इतिthus (quotative)

किम्what? which?

तयोःof the two (of them)

कारणम्cause/decisive ground

भवेत्would be / should be

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pitāmaha (Bhīṣma, implied addressee)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a foundational inquiry in dharma-discourse: when ethical or religious conclusions are disputed, what counts as the primary pramāṇa (means of valid knowledge)—direct perception (pratyakṣa) or authoritative tradition/scripture (āgama)?

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports a question addressed to the Pitāmaha (Bhīṣma) in the Anuśāsana context: the interlocutor seeks guidance on how to adjudicate dharma—by what is directly seen/experienced or by what is transmitted as authoritative teaching.