Shloka 2

Devanagari script

निर्णये वा महाबुद्धे सर्वधर्मविदां वर । प्रत्यक्षमागमो वेति कि तयो: कारणं भवेत्‌

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: nirṇaye vā mahābuddhe sarvadharmavidāṃ vara | pratyakṣam āgamo veti kiṃ tayoḥ kāraṇaṃ bhavet ||

Translation

ਹੇ ਮਹਾਬੁੱਧੀਮਾਨ ਪਿਤਾਮਹ, ਸਭ ਧਰਮ-ਵਿਦਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਸ਼੍ਰੇਸ਼ਠ! ਧਰਮ ਦੇ ਵਿਸ਼ੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਨਿਰਣਯ ਕਰਨਾ ਹੋਵੇ ਤਾਂ ਪ੍ਰਤੱਖ ਪ੍ਰਮਾਣ ਦਾ ਆਸਰਾ ਲਿਆ ਜਾਵੇ ਜਾਂ ਆਗਮ ਦਾ? ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੋਹਾਂ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਸਿਧਾਂਤ-ਨਿਰਣਯ ਲਈ ਮੁੱਖ ਕਾਰਣ ਕਿਹੜਾ ਹੈ?

Word by Word

• निर्णये: in (the matter of) decision/determination
• निर्णये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्णय
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• महाबुद्धे: O great-intellect (one)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाबुद्धि
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• सर्वधर्मविदाम्: of all knowers of dharma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वधर्मविद्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• वर: O best/excellent (one)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• प्रत्यक्षम्: direct perception (as a pramāṇa)
• प्रत्यक्षम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रत्यक्ष
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• आगमः: scriptural testimony/tradition (āgama)
• आगमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आगम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• इति: thus (quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• किम्: what? which?
• किम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• तयोः: of the two (of them)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Dual

• कारणम्: cause/decisive ground
• कारणम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• भवेत्: would be / should be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pitāmaha (Bhīṣma, implied addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a foundational inquiry in dharma-discourse: when ethical or religious conclusions are disputed, what counts as the primary pramāṇa (means of valid knowledge)—direct perception (pratyakṣa) or authoritative tradition/scripture (āgama)?

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports a question addressed to the Pitāmaha (Bhīṣma) in the Anuśāsana context: the interlocutor seeks guidance on how to adjudicate dharma—by what is directly seen/experienced or by what is transmitted as authoritative teaching.