Shloka 22
कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve
अनया हतमेवेदमिति शास्त्रमपार्थकम् | दैतेयानुशना प्राह संशयच्छेदनं पुरा
anayā hatam evedam iti śāstram apārthakam | daiteyānuśanā prāha saṃśaya-cchedanaṃ purā ||
Bhishma said: “Some argue, ‘This has been refuted by such-and-such reasoning; therefore the scripture is pointless.’ But that claim itself arises from ignorance. One should not try to understand reasoning in isolation from scripture, nor scripture in isolation from reasoning; rather, with the support of both together, one should determine what ought to be done and then follow it. Long ago, Śukrācārya himself taught this doubt-dispelling principle to the Daityas.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not dismiss śāstra as ‘useless’ merely because a particular argument seems to refute it. True discernment of dharma arises when tarka (reasoned inquiry) and śāstra (authoritative teaching) are used together to determine duty.
Bhīṣma, instructing on dharma in the Śānti Parva, cites an older precedent: Śukrācārya once taught the Daityas a principle meant to cut through doubt—namely, that scripture and reasoning should cooperate rather than compete.