Shloka 89
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
यथा श्मशाने दीप्तौजा: पावको नैव दुष्यति । एवं विद्वानविद्दान् वा ब्राह्मणो दैवतं महत्,जैसे प्रज्वलित अग्नि श्मशानमें भी दूषित नहीं होती, उसी प्रकार ब्राह्मण विद्वान हो या अविद्दवान, उसे महान् देवता ही मानना चाहिये
yathā śmaśāne dīptaujāḥ pāvako naiva duṣyati | evaṃ vidvān avidvān vā brāhmaṇo daivataṃ mahat ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Just as a blazing fire is not tainted even in a cremation ground, so too a brāhmaṇa—whether learned or unlearned—should be regarded as a great divinity. His sanctity is not to be measured merely by visible circumstance or personal attainment; reverence toward him is itself a discipline of dharma.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a brāhmaṇa is to be honored as inherently venerable—like fire that remains pure even in a cremation ground—so one should not withdraw respect based on external setting or perceived lack of learning.
Yudhiṣṭhira states a dharma-principle using a vivid simile: fire’s purity is unaffected by the cremation ground, and similarly the social-religious status of a brāhmaṇa warrants reverence whether he is learned or not.