Shloka 2
कपिलगोसंवादे गृहस्थ-त्यागधर्मयोः प्रमाण्यविचारः
Kapila–Cow Dialogue: Authority of Householder and Renunciant Dharmas
भीष्मजीने कहा--राजन! धर्मके विषयमें जाजलिके साथ तुलाधार वैश्यकी जो बातें हुई थीं, उसी प्राचीन इतिहासका दिद्वान् पुरुष यहाँ उदाहरण दिया करते हैं ।।
bhīṣma uvāca—rājan! dharmaviṣaye jājalikena saha tulādhāra-vaiśyasya yā bātāḥ (kathāḥ) abhavan, tam eva prācīnam itihāsaṃ vidvān puruṣā iha udāharaṇatvena vadanti. vane vanacaraḥ kaścid jājalir nāma vai dvijaḥ; sāgaroddeśam āgamya tapas tepe mahātapāḥ.
Bhishma sagte: „O König, die Gelehrten führen hier als Beispiel eine alte Erzählung über das Dharma an: den Dialog, der einst zwischen dem Brahmanen Jājali und dem Kaufmann Tulādhāra stattfand. In jener Geschichte begab sich ein Brahmane namens Jājali, der als Waldbewohner lebte, in die Gegend der Meeresküste und übte dort strenge Askese; denn er war ein großer Asket.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames Dharma through an instructive precedent: the ancient dialogue between an ascetic Brahmin (Jajali) and a householder-merchant (Tuladhara). The verse signals that ethical insight is to be sought through exemplary narratives and that Dharma can be illuminated across different social roles.
Bhishma introduces an old story as an illustration. He begins by describing Jajali: a Brahmin living in the forest who travels to the coastal region and undertakes intense austerities, setting the stage for his later encounter and discussion with the merchant Tuladhara.