Shloka 110
पठका: पाठकाश्ैव ये चान्ये शास्त्रचिन्तका: । सर्वे व्यसनिनो मूर्खा यः क्रियावान् स पण्डित:,पढ़नेवाले, पढ़ानेवाले तथा शास्त्रका विचार करनेवाले--ये सब तो व्यसनी और मूर्ख ही हैं। पण्डित तो वही है, जो अपने (शास्त्रोक्त) कर्तव्यका पालन करता है
paṭhakāḥ pāṭhakāś caiva ye cānye śāstra-cintakāḥ | sarve vyasanino mūrkhā yaḥ kriyāvān sa paṇḍitaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Those who merely read, those who teach, and even those who only deliberate upon the śāstras—such people, if they stop at words alone, are all addicted (to disputation and display) and are foolish. The truly learned person is the one who is devoted to right action—who actually performs the duties enjoined by the śāstra.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True learning is measured by conduct: the genuinely wise person is the one who practices dharma through action, not one who merely reads, teaches, or debates śāstra without living it.
In the Vana Parva’s dharma-oriented discourse, Yudhiṣṭhira emphasizes ethical praxis over intellectual display, warning that scholarship without performance of duty becomes empty and even self-indulgent.