Shloka 10
Adhyāya 241: Guṇa-sṛṣṭi, Kṣetrajña-sākṣitva, and Śama through Ātma-jñāna (गुणसृष्टिः, क्षेत्रज्ञसाक्षित्वं, शमः)
ये सम बुद्धि परां प्राप्ता धर्मनैपुण्यदर्शिन: । नते कर्म प्रशंसन्ति कूपं नद्यां पिबन्निव,'परंतु जो धर्मके तत्त्वको भलीभाँति समझकर सर्वोत्तम ज्ञान प्राप्त कर चुके हैं, वे कर्मकी उसी तरह प्रशंसा नहीं करते हैं, जैसे प्रतिदिन नदीका पानी पीनेवाले मनुष्य कुएँका आदर नहीं करते हैं
ye sama-buddhi-parāṁ prāptā dharma-naipuṇya-darśinaḥ | na te karma praśaṁsanti kūpaṁ nadyāṁ pibann iva ||
Bhishma said: Those who have attained the highest even-minded understanding and who clearly discern the subtle skill of dharma do not extol ritual action as supreme—just as a person who drinks daily from a flowing river does not prize a well.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
When higher, steady insight into dharma is attained, ritual or action (karma) is no longer treated as the ultimate means; it becomes secondary to realized understanding—illustrated by the river (abundant direct source) making the well (limited source) comparatively insignificant.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira by contrasting ordinary reliance on prescribed actions with the standpoint of those established in higher knowledge, using a simple everyday metaphor of drinking from a river versus valuing a well.