Shloka 26
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
केषां बलाबल बुद्धया हेतुभिर्विमृशेद् बुध: । एष मे संशयस्तात तनमे ब्रूहि पितामह,विद्वान् पुरुष अपनी बुद्धि तथा युक्तियोंद्वारा किन दोषोंके बलाबलका विचार करे। तात! पितामह! यह मेरा संशय है। आप मुझसे इसका विवेचन कीजिये
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | keṣāṃ balābala-buddhyā hetubhir vimṛśed budhaḥ | eṣa me saṃśayas tāta tan me brūhi pitāmaha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O dear grandsire, a wise man, using discernment of what is strong and what is weak and examining the reasons behind it, should evaluate the relative force of which faults? This is my doubt. O Pitāmaha, please explain it to me.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical inquiry as rational evaluation: a wise person should not condemn or excuse blindly, but weigh faults by their relative strength and weakness, using clear reasons (hetu) and discernment (balābala-buddhi).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-setting, Yudhiṣṭhira asks Bhīṣma (addressed as Pitāmaha) to clarify a doubt: which kinds of doṣas (faults/vices) should be assessed for their comparative force, and by what reasoning a wise person should judge them.