Shloka 18
आरण्यकपर्वणि अध्यायः २१६ — इन्द्र-स्कन्द-संमुखता वज्रप्रहारश्च
Indra approaches Skanda; vajra strike and the arising of Viśākha
मातापितृभ्यां शुश्रूषां करिष्ये वचनात् तव । नाकृतात्मा वेदयति धर्माधर्मविनिश्चयम्,मैं आपके कहनेके अनुसार माता-पिताकी सेवा करूँगा। जिसका अन्तः:करण शुद्ध नहीं है, वह धर्म-अधर्मके निर्णयको बतला नहीं सकता
mātāpitr̥bhyāṁ śuśrūṣāṁ kariṣye vacanāt tava | nākṛtātmā vedayati dharmādharmaviniścayam ||
At your word, I shall render devoted service to my mother and father. For one whose inner self is not disciplined and purified cannot truly discern or declare the right decision between dharma and adharma.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
True moral judgment (deciding between dharma and adharma) requires an inner life that is cultivated—self-controlled, purified, and disciplined. Without such inner refinement, one’s pronouncements on ethics lack authority and clarity.
A Brahmin speaker affirms obedience to an instruction by committing to serve his parents. He then adds a reflective ethical principle: only a person with a trained and purified inner self is fit to determine and articulate what is truly righteous or unrighteous.