Shloka 26
Kuberasaras-darśana (Bhīma beholds Kubera’s guarded lotus-lake) / कुबेरसरः-दर्शनम्
न हि धर्ममविज्ञाय वृद्धाननुपसेव्य च । धर्मार्थी वेदितुं शक्यौ बृहस्पतिसमैरपि,क्योंकि धर्मको जाने बिना और वृद्ध पुरुषोंकी सेवा किये बिना बृहस्पति-जैसे विद्वानोंके लिये भी धर्म और अर्थके तत्त्वको समझना सम्भव नहीं है
na hi dharmam avijñāya vṛddhān anupasevya ca | dharmārthī vedituṁ śakyau bṛhaspati-samair api ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Sin comprender primero el dharma, y sin servir y aprender de los ancianos, no es posible captar de verdad los principios del dharma y del artha—ni siquiera para sabios tan esclarecidos como Bṛhaspati.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
True understanding of dharma (and its practical companion, artha) requires both clear knowledge and the lived guidance gained through respectful service to elders; mere brilliance, even Bṛhaspati-like scholarship, is insufficient without humility and apprenticeship.
Vaiśaṃpāyana delivers a didactic statement emphasizing how dharma is learned: by first discerning it and by associating with and serving elders. The verse functions as moral instruction within the Vana Parva’s broader teaching-oriented discourse.