Shloka 12
कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve
आजिजीविषवो विद्यां यश:कामौ समन्तत:ः । ते सर्वे नृप पापिष्ठा धर्मस्य परिपन्थिन:
ājijīviṣavo vidyāṃ yaśaḥ-kāmau samantataḥ | te sarve nṛpa pāpiṣṭhā dharmasya paripanथinaḥ ||
Dijo Bhishma: «Oh rey, quienes buscan el saber sólo para ganarse la vida, y que por el poder de ese saber persiguen fama en todas direcciones y la satisfacción de sus deseos—todos ellos son profundamente pecaminosos y se alzan como obstáculos para el dharma».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Learning (vidyā) becomes ethically corrupt when it is pursued chiefly for livelihood, fame, and desire-fulfillment; such motivation turns knowledge into an instrument that obstructs dharma rather than serving it.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on righteous conduct. Here he warns that people who acquire learning with self-serving aims—seeking status and pleasures through it—are to be regarded as opponents of dharma.