Shloka 21
कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve
आगतागमया बुद्धया वचनेन प्रशस्यते । अज्ञानाऊज्ञानहेतुत्वाद् वचनं साधु मन््यते
āgatāgamayā buddhyā vacanena praśasyate | ajñānāj jñāna-hetutvād vacanaṃ sādhu manyate ||
Bhishma said: A statement is praised when it is spoken with an intellect grounded in received tradition and authoritative teaching. Because it becomes a cause for turning ignorance into knowledge, such speech is regarded as good. What is approved by the Vedas and śāstras and expressed through reasoning is what truly establishes the worth of scripture in people’s minds. Others, however, treat bare logic alone as the highest means for knowing what is unknown—this is simply a misunderstanding.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sound teaching should unite scriptural/traditional authority (āgama) with disciplined reasoning (buddhi). Speech that helps transform ignorance into knowledge is ‘good’; treating logic alone as supreme while ignoring śāstra is presented as misguided.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right understanding. Here he explains how authoritative knowledge is validated: statements rooted in Veda/śāstra and supported by reason are what people accept and what makes scripture effective.