Mahabharata 3.201.114 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 114
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
शुष्क॑ तर्क परित्यज्य आश्रयस्व श्रुति स्मृतिम् एकाक्षराभिसम्बद्धं तत्त्वं हेतुभिरिच्छसि । बुद्धिर्न तस्य सिद्धयेत साधनस्य विपर्ययात्
śuṣkaṃ tarkaṃ parityajya āśrayasva śruti-smṛtim | ekākṣarābhisambaddhaṃ tattvaṃ hetubhir icchasi || buddhiḥ na tasya siddhyet sādhanasya viparyayāt |
कोरा तर्क छोड़कर श्रुति और स्मृति का आश्रय लो। यदि तुम प्रणव (ॐ) से संबद्ध परम तत्त्व को युक्तिपूर्वक और निःसंदेह जानना चाहते हो, तो समझो—उचित साधन के बिना बुद्धि उस तत्त्व का निश्चय नहीं कर सकती।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not rely on mere speculative debate to know ultimate truth; use reasoning in harmony with authoritative sources—Śruti and Smṛti—and adopt the proper spiritual means (sādhana). Only then can the intellect reach firm certainty about the Reality associated with the praṇava (Oṃ).
In a didactic exchange within the Vana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira instructs the listener that metaphysical truth is not secured by ‘dry’ argument alone; one must ground inquiry in scriptural testimony and right practice to avoid error and attain decisive understanding.
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