Shloka 21
कपिल–स्यूमरश्मि संवादः
Kapila and Syūmaraśmi on Renunciation, Householder Support, and Epistemic Authority
अनाचारसे सनातन धर्म मोहयुक्त होकर नष्ट हो जाता है। उसके द्वारा विद्वान, तपस्वी तथा काम-क्रोधको जीतनेवाला बलवान पुरुष भी मोहमें पड़ जाता है ।।
anācārase sanātana-dharmaḥ moha-yuktaḥ bhūtvā naśyati | tena vidvān tapasvī ca kāma-krodha-jayī balavān api puruṣo mohe nimajjati || ācārāj jāyate prājñaḥ kṣipraṃ dharmam avāpnuyāt | evaṃ yaḥ sādhubhir ādāntaś cared adroha-cetasā, jājale, sa vidvān veda-bodhitam sadācāraṃ pālayitvā kṣipraṃ dharmasya rahasyaṃ jānāti ||
Tulādhāra said: When one departs from right conduct (ācāra), the eternal dharma (sanātana dharma) is clouded by delusion and is ruined. By that lapse, even a learned man—an ascetic, strong, and a conqueror of desire and anger—can still be drawn into bewilderment. From proper conduct a wise person is formed, and he quickly attains dharma. Thus, O Jājali, the self-controlled man who, without malice in his heart toward others, lives according to the conduct upheld by the good—he, being learned, by following the good conduct taught by the Vedas, swiftly comes to know the inner secret of dharma.
तुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is safeguarded and understood through ācāra (right conduct) grounded in the example of the virtuous and in Vedic guidance; without such conduct, delusion can overwhelm even the learned and self-controlled.
In the Tulādhāra–Jājali discourse of Śānti Parva, Tulādhāra instructs the sage Jājali that ethical practice—especially living without malice and following the conduct upheld by good people—leads quickly to insight into dharma’s deeper principle.