Shloka 26
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
केषां बलाबल बुद्धया हेतुभिर्विमृशेद् बुध: । एष मे संशयस्तात तनमे ब्रूहि पितामह
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | keṣāṃ balābala-buddhyā hetubhir vimṛśed budhaḥ | eṣa me saṃśayas tāta tan me brūhi pitāmaha ||
केषां बलाबल बुद्ध्या हेतुभिर्विमृशेद् बुधः। एष मे संशयस्तात तन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह॥
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical inquiry as rational evaluation: a wise person should not condemn or excuse blindly, but weigh faults by their relative strength and weakness, using clear reasons (hetu) and discernment (balābala-buddhi).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-setting, Yudhiṣṭhira asks Bhīṣma (addressed as Pitāmaha) to clarify a doubt: which kinds of doṣas (faults/vices) should be assessed for their comparative force, and by what reasoning a wise person should judge them.