Shloka 19
Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya
आस्तिका नास्तिकाश्नैव नियता: संयमे परे । अप्रज्ञानं तमोभूतं प्रज्ञानं तु प्रकाशिता,दूसरे बहुत-से आस्तिक-नास्तिक संयम नियम-परायण पुरुष हैं जो अर्थके इच्छुक होते हैं। अर्थकी प्रधानताको न जानना तमोमय अज्ञान है। अर्थकी प्रधानताका ज्ञान प्रकाशमय है
ārjuna uvāca | āstikā nāstikāś caiva niyatāḥ saṃyame pare | aprajñānaṃ tamobhūtaṃ prajñānaṃ tu prakāśitam ||
Arjuna said: “There are many—both believers and non-believers—who are disciplined and devoted to strict self-restraint. Yet, when one fails to recognize what is truly primary, that lack of discernment becomes ignorance steeped in darkness. True discernment, by contrast, is luminous: it reveals the right priority and guides conduct toward what is genuinely meaningful.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Discipline alone is not sufficient: without prajñā (clear discernment of what is truly primary), one remains in tamas-like ignorance. Wisdom is described as light because it clarifies priorities and thereby directs ethical action.
In the Shānti Parva’s reflective instruction on dharma and right understanding, Arjuna speaks about the contrast between mere external restraint (found among both believers and skeptics) and the inner illumination of true knowledge that distinguishes right priorities.