Shloka 36
कपिल–स्यूमरश्मि संवादः
Kapila and Syūmaraśmi on Renunciation, Householder Support, and Epistemic Authority
जाजले! कोई भी धर्म निष्प्रयोजन या निष्फल नहीं है, उसका स्वरूप अत्यन्त सूक्ष्म है, स्वर्ग या ब्रह्मकी प्राप्तिके लिये ही यहाँ धर्मकी व्याख्या की गयी है ।।
Tulādhāra uvāca: Jājale! ko 'pi dharmo niṣprayojano vā niṣphalo na bhavati; tasya svarūpam atyanta-sūkṣmam. svarga-vā brahma-prāpty-artham iha dharmasya vyākhyā kṛtā. sūkṣmatvān na sa vijñātuṁ śakyate bahubhir nṛbhiḥ; upalakṣyāntarāś cānyān ācārān avabudhyate.
Tulādhāra said: “Jājali, no form of dharma is without purpose or without fruit; its true nature is exceedingly subtle. Here dharma is explained with the aim of attaining heaven or Brahman. Because it is so subtle, most people cannot fully know it—many factors conceal its real form. Yet, by observing at intervals the varied conduct of the truly good, a person gradually comes to understand what dharma actually is.”
तुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is never pointless, but its essence is extremely subtle and often hidden; therefore one learns it not only from definitions but by carefully observing the lived conduct (ācāra) of truly virtuous people, with the higher aims of heaven or Brahman-realization in view.
In the Śānti Parva discourse, Tulādhāra instructs the seeker Jājali, explaining why dharma is difficult to pin down in abstract terms and how practical observation of exemplary persons helps one discern genuine dharma.