Shloka 3
कपिल–स्यूमरश्मि संवादः
Kapila and Syūmaraśmi on Renunciation, Householder Support, and Epistemic Authority
अध्यगा नैछिकीं बुद्धिं कुतस्त्वामिदमागतम् । एतदाचक्ष्व मे सर्व निखिलेन महामते
bhīṣma uvāca |
adhyagā naiṣṭhikīṃ buddhiṃ kutas tvām idam āgatam |
etad ācakṣva me sarvaṃ nikhilena mahāmate ||
Bhishma said: “From where did you acquire this steadfast understanding grounded in dharma? How did this insight come to you? O great-minded one, tell me all of it completely, in full detail.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical importance of tracing wisdom to its source: steadfast dharmic discernment is not assumed to be accidental, but something learned or received through discipline, instruction, or experience, and it should be articulated clearly for the benefit of others.
Bhishma, in the Shanti Parva’s instructional setting, addresses a wise interlocutor and asks how that person obtained unwavering, dharma-centered understanding, requesting a complete account of the origin and means of that knowledge.