Shloka 20
भীমेन युधिष्ठिरस्य त्यागवृत्तेः प्रतिषेधः
Bhīma’s Rebuttal of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Renunciatory Inclination
श्रिया विहीनैरधनैर्नास्तिकै: सम्प्रवर्तितम् । वेदवादस्य विज्ञानं सत्याभासमिवानृतम्
śriyā vihīnair adhanair nāstikaiḥ sampravartitam | vedavādasya vijñānaṃ satyābhāsam ivānṛtam ||
Bhīma dit : «Privés de prospérité, dénués de richesses et poussés par l’incrédulité, certains ont mis en branle une prétendue “connaissance” fondée sur des passages laudatifs du Veda (arthavāda). Elle a l’apparence du vrai, mais elle est mensonge : une imitation de la vérité servant à répandre une doctrine trompeuse.»
भीम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīma warns that doctrines can be made to look authoritative by leaning on persuasive Vedic-sounding statements (especially arthavāda), yet still be ethically and intellectually false; one must test claims by genuine dharma and truth, not mere rhetorical resemblance to scripture.
In the Śānti Parva discussion on dharma and right conduct, Bhīma criticizes certain interpreters who, lacking integrity and faith, promote a misleading ‘knowledge’ by appealing to Vedic eulogistic passages, presenting falsehood as if it were truth.