Shloka 17
धर्मसूक्ष्मे त्यागप्रधान्यविचारः
Subtle Dharma and the Primacy of Renunciation
वेदवादानतिक्रम्य शास्त्राण्यारण्यकानि च । विपाट्य कदलीस्तम्भं सारं ददृशिरे न ते,उन्होंने वेदोंके सम्पूर्ण वाक््यों तथा शास्त्रों और बृहदारण्यक आदि वेदान्तग्रन्थोंको भी पढ़ लिया, परंतु जैसे केलेके खम्भेको फाड़नेसे कुछ सार नहीं दिखायी देता, उसी प्रकार उन्हें इस जगत्में सार वस्तु नहीं दिखायी दी
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | vedavādān atikramya śāstrāṇy āraṇyakāni ca | vipāṭya kadalī-stambhaṃ sāraṃ dadṛśire na te ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: Even after going beyond mere disputation about the Vedas and studying the śāstras and the Āraṇyakas as well, they did not perceive any true essence—just as, when one splits open the trunk of a banana plant, no solid core is found; so too, to them, no substantial reality appeared in this world.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mere textual mastery and debate about the Vedas, even alongside study of śāstras and Āraṇyakas, can still fail to yield realization of the ‘sāra’ (true essence). The verse warns that learning without inner discernment may reveal only emptiness—like a banana trunk that has no hard pith.
Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on certain learned people: despite extensive scriptural study, they remain unable to find any substantial meaning or stable reality in worldly life. He illustrates their experience with a vivid simile—splitting a banana stem and finding no core.