Shloka 4
संशय: सुगमस्तत्र दुर्गमस्तस्य निर्णय: । दृष्ट श्रुतमनन्तं हि यत्र संशयदर्शनम्
saṁśayaḥ sugamas tatra durgamas tasya nirṇayaḥ | dṛṣṭa-śrutam anantaṁ hi yatra saṁśaya-darśanam ||
“Dalam perkara dharma, menimbulkan keraguan itu mudah, tetapi menetapkan keputusan yang teguh amatlah sukar. Sebab apa yang dilihat langsung dan apa yang didengar dari āgama sama-sama tiada bertepi; dan pada keduanya pun kesempatan untuk ragu niscaya muncul.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Doubts about dharma arise easily, but resolving them is hard because both perception (what is seen) and tradition/scripture (what is heard) are vast and can each generate uncertainty; therefore ethical judgment requires careful discernment rather than quick conclusions.
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira, emphasizing the difficulty of settling moral questions when evidence from experience and from scriptural tradition is extensive and sometimes ambiguous.