Shloka 43
Adhyāya 262: Śabda-brahman, Para-brahman, and the Ethics of Tyāga
Kapila–Syūmaraśmi Saṃvāda
जाजले तीर्थमात्मैव मा सम देशातिथिभर्भव । एतानीदृशकान् धर्मानाचरन्निह जाजले
jājale tīrtham ātmaiva mā sama deśātithibhar bhava | etānīdṛśakān dharmān ācarann iha jājale ||
Tulādhāra dit : «Ô Jājali, ton propre Soi est ton gué sacré (tīrtha). Ne deviens pas celui qui traite l’hôte avec indifférence, comme si tous les lieux et toutes les personnes se valaient. En pratiquant de tels devoirs—honorer et servir l’hôte—on se purifie ici même, ô Jājali.»
तुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
True purification is grounded in one’s own conduct: the ‘tīrtha’ is the disciplined self, and a key expression of dharma is honoring the atithi (guest) rather than neglecting them under a mistaken idea of indifferent ‘sameness’.
In the Tulādhāra–Jājali discourse of Śānti Parva, the householder-sage Tulādhāra instructs the ascetic Jājali, emphasizing practical ethical duties—especially hospitality—as superior to merely external notions of pilgrimage or spiritual attainment.