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 ||
स त्वं विद्वन् धर्ममिममधिगम्य कथं नु माम् । अपत्यार्थं समुत्क्रम्य प्रमादादिव भाषसे ॥ धर्ममार्गं परित्यज्य पुनर्मां संतानोत्पत्तये किमर्थं प्रेरयसि ॥
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.