Mahabharata — Sabha Parva, Shloka 4
अर्हणनिर्णयः
Decision on the Highest Honor at the Assembly
एवमेतन्न चाप्येवमेवं चैतन्न चान्यथा । इत्यूचुर्बहवस्तत्र वितण्डा वै परस्परम्
evam etan na cāpy evam evaṃ caitanna cānyathā | ity ūcur bahavas tatra vitaṇḍā vai parasparam ||
Waiśampāyana berkata: Di sana banyak pendebat saling menyanggah, berseru, “Harus tepat begini,” “Tidak, bukan begitu,” “Ya, demikianlah dan tak mungkin selainnya.” Di balairung yajña Raja Yudhiṣṭhira, para brahmana terpelajar—memanfaatkan sela di antara rangkaian ritus—berdebat tajam, seakan lebih berhasrat menjatuhkan lawan daripada menegakkan kebenaran. Namun majelis itu tetap bersinar, dihiasi para maharsi seperti Nārada, laksana pertemuan para dewa dan resi ilahi di istana Brahmā.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the difference between genuine inquiry and contentious disputation: in sacred contexts, learning should serve truth and dharma, not ego-driven refutation (vitaṇḍā), which produces noise rather than clarity.
During Yudhiṣṭhira’s grand sacrificial proceedings, learned Brahmins and scholars, taking breaks between ritual duties, engage in mutual argument—asserting and denying points emphatically—while the wider assembly of sages (likened to Brahmā’s court) remains splendid.