Shloka 18
आरण्यकपर्वणि अध्यायः २१६ — इन्द्र-स्कन्द-संमुखता वज्रप्रहारश्च
Indra approaches Skanda; vajra strike and the arising of Viśākha
मातापितृभ्यां शुश्रूषां करिष्ये वचनात् तव । नाकृतात्मा वेदयति धर्माधर्मविनिश्चयम्
mātāpitr̥bhyāṁ śuśrūṣāṁ kariṣye vacanāt tava | nākṛtātmā vedayati dharmādharmaviniścayam ||
À ta parole, je rendrai un service dévoué à ma mère et à mon père. Car celui dont l’être intérieur n’est ni discipliné ni purifié ne peut discerner avec justesse entre dharma et adharma.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
True moral judgment (deciding between dharma and adharma) requires an inner life that is cultivated—self-controlled, purified, and disciplined. Without such inner refinement, one’s pronouncements on ethics lack authority and clarity.
A Brahmin speaker affirms obedience to an instruction by committing to serve his parents. He then adds a reflective ethical principle: only a person with a trained and purified inner self is fit to determine and articulate what is truly righteous or unrighteous.