Shloka 17
धर्मसूक्ष्मे त्यागप्रधान्यविचारः
Subtle Dharma and the Primacy of Renunciation
वेदवादानतिक्रम्य शास्त्राण्यारण्यकानि च । विपाट्य कदलीस्तम्भं सारं ददृशिरे न ते
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | vedavādān atikramya śāstrāṇy āraṇyakāni ca | vipāṭya kadalī-stambhaṃ sāraṃ dadṛśire na te ||
Mereka telah melampaui perdebatan semata tentang Weda dan mempelajari pula śāstra serta Āraṇyaka; namun, sebagaimana batang pohon pisang dibelah dan tak ditemukan inti yang padat, demikian pula di dunia ini mereka tidak melihat hakikat yang sungguh-sungguh esensial.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mere textual mastery and debate about the Vedas, even alongside study of śāstras and Āraṇyakas, can still fail to yield realization of the ‘sāra’ (true essence). The verse warns that learning without inner discernment may reveal only emptiness—like a banana trunk that has no hard pith.
Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on certain learned people: despite extensive scriptural study, they remain unable to find any substantial meaning or stable reality in worldly life. He illustrates their experience with a vivid simile—splitting a banana stem and finding no core.