Shloka 13
कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve
अपक्वमतयो मन्दा न जानन्ति यथातथम् | यथा हाराशास्त्रकुशला: सर्वत्रायुक्तिनिछ्ठिता
apakvamatayo mandā na jānanti yathātatham | yathā hāraśāstrakuśalāḥ sarvatrāyuktiniṣṭhitāḥ ||
Bhishma said: Those whose understanding is still unripe—dull-witted people—do not know reality as it truly is. Like persons who claim skill in a treatise yet lack real mastery, they cling everywhere to ill-fitting, unsound arguments, and thus miss the truth that should guide right conduct.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that ethical clarity depends on mature understanding and sound reasoning; immature minds fail to grasp reality and instead rely on inconsistent arguments, which leads them away from dharma.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira by criticizing shallow, untrained reasoning and emphasizing the need to know things 'as they truly are' (yathātatham).