Shloka 8
कपिलगोसंवादे गृहस्थ-त्यागधर्मयोः प्रमाण्यविचारः
Kapila–Cow Dialogue: Authority of Householder and Renunciant Dharmas
तुलाधारो वणिग्धर्मा वाराणस्यां महायशा: । सोअप्येवं नाते वक्तुं यथा त्वं द्विजसत्तम
tulādhāro vaṇigdharmaḥ vārāṇasyāṃ mahāyaśāḥ | so 'py evaṃ nāta vaktuṃ yathā tvaṃ dvijasattama ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Tulādhāra, l’illustre marchand voué au dharma du négoce, demeure à Vārāṇasī. Même lui n’a pu parler de ces choses comme tu le fais, ô le meilleur des deux-fois-nés.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ethical insight and clarity in dharma are not confined to social status; even a famed exemplar like Tulādhāra is invoked to highlight the exceptional quality of the addressee’s understanding and expression, underscoring humility and the recognition of true moral authority.
Bhīṣma, in the course of his instruction on dharma in Śānti Parva, references Tulādhāra of Vārāṇasī—an illustrious merchant known for righteous conduct—and remarks that even he could not articulate the matter as the addressed brāhmaṇa does.