Shloka 19
कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve
लोकयात्रामिहैके तु धर्म प्राहुर्मनीषिण: । समुद्दिष्टं सतां धर्म स््वयमूहेत पण्डित:
lokayātrām ihaike tu dharma prāhur manīṣiṇaḥ | samuddiṣṭaṃ satāṃ dharmaḥ svayam ūhet paṇḍitaḥ ||
Dijo Bhishma: En este mundo, algunos hombres reflexivos afirman que las costumbres por las que se sostiene la vida social son en sí mismas ‘dharma’. Pero el verdaderamente instruido debe ponderar por sí mismo y determinar el dharma enseñado e indicado por los virtuosos—un dharma asentado en los śāstras—en vez de apoyarse sólo en la práctica social dominante.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not to be equated blindly with whatever society happens to practice. A discerning, learned person should reflect and determine true dharma as indicated by the virtuous and grounded in śāstric guidance, using reasoned inquiry (ūha).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma advises Yudhiṣṭhira that while some define dharma as mere social convention (lokayātrā), the wise must critically examine and settle what is genuinely righteous according to the standards of the good and the prescriptions of the śāstras.