Shloka 12
आदि पर्व — जातुगृह-प्रसङ्गः: विदुरप्रेषित-खनकस्य सूचना तथा पलायन-मार्ग-निर्माणम्
Adi Parva 135: The Miner’s Warning and Construction of the Escape Passage
एषो<अस्त्रविदुषां श्रेष्ठ एब धर्मभूृतां वर: । एष शीलवतां चापि शीलज्ञाननिधि: पर:
eṣo 'straviduṣāṃ śreṣṭha eṣa dharmabhṛtāṃ varaḥ | eṣa śīlavatāṃ cāpi śīlajñānanidhiḥ paraḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “This one is the foremost among those skilled in weapons; this one is the best among the upholders of dharma. And among the well-conducted too, he is supreme—a highest treasury of character and wisdom.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
True excellence is presented as multidimensional: mastery of arms is praised, but it is explicitly paired with dharma (moral responsibility) and śīla (good conduct). The ideal person is not merely powerful, but a repository of wisdom and character.
Vaiśampāyana is describing and extolling a particular individual (not named in this verse) by listing superlative qualities—martial expertise, steadfastness in dharma, and exemplary conduct—framing him as an ethical ideal within the story.