Shloka 43
Adhyāya 262: Śabda-brahman, Para-brahman, and the Ethics of Tyāga
Kapila–Syūmaraśmi Saṃvāda
जाजले तीर्थमात्मैव मा सम देशातिथिभर्भव । एतानीदृशकान् धर्मानाचरन्निह जाजले
jājale tīrtham ātmaiva mā sama deśātithibhar bhava | etānīdṛśakān dharmān ācarann iha jājale ||
Tulādhāra berkata: “Wahai Jājali, dirimu sendiri adalah tīrtha-mu. Jangan bersikap acuh kepada tamu seakan-akan semua tempat dan semua orang sama saja. Dengan menjalankan dharma seperti ini—terutama memuliakan dan melayani tamu—seseorang menjadi suci di sini juga, wahai Jājali.”
तुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
True purification is grounded in one’s own conduct: the ‘tīrtha’ is the disciplined self, and a key expression of dharma is honoring the atithi (guest) rather than neglecting them under a mistaken idea of indifferent ‘sameness’.
In the Tulādhāra–Jājali discourse of Śānti Parva, the householder-sage Tulādhāra instructs the ascetic Jājali, emphasizing practical ethical duties—especially hospitality—as superior to merely external notions of pilgrimage or spiritual attainment.