Shloka 78
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
स त्वं विद्वन् धर्ममिममधिगम्य कथं नु माम् । अपत्यार्थ समुत्क्रम्य प्रमादादिव भाषसे
sa tvaṁ vidvan dharmam imam adhigamya kathaṁ nu mām | apatyārthaṁ samutkramya pramādād iva bhāṣase ||
ಹೇ ವಿದ್ಯವನ್! ಈ ಧರ್ಮವನ್ನು ತಿಳಿದಿದ್ದರೂ ಅಜಾಗರೂಕನಂತೆ ನನ್ನೊಡನೆ ಏಕೆ ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತೀ? ಧರ್ಮಮಾರ್ಗವನ್ನು ಬದಿಗಿಟ್ಟು ಮತ್ತೆ ನನಗೆ ಸಂತಾನೋತ್ಪತ್ತಿಗಾಗಿ ಏಕೆ ಪ್ರೇರೇಪಿಸುತ್ತೀ?
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a learned person must act consistently with dharma; urging someone toward an act framed as contrary to dharma is criticized as ‘pramāda’ (heedlessness). Ethical counsel must align with the moral order one claims to know.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a speaker rebukes a learned interlocutor: despite knowing dharma, he appears to abandon it and then presses the other person to pursue offspring, prompting a moral challenge about consistency and rightful conduct.