Adhyaya 20 — Ritadhvaja’s Companionship with the Naga Princes and the Origin of the Horse Kuvalaya
सन्ति शास्त्रविदोऽशीलाḥ सन्ति मूर्खाः सुशीलिनः ।
शास्त्रशीले समं मन्ये पुत्रौ धन्यतरन्तु तम् ॥
santi śāstravido 'śīlāḥ santi mūrkhāḥ suśīlinaḥ | śāstraśīle samaṃ manye putrau dhanyatarantu tam ||
केचित् शास्त्रविदोऽपि सदाचारवर्जिताः; केचिद् अशिक्षिता अपि सुशीलाः। विद्यां च शीलं च समं मन्ये; युवां तु उभाभ्याम् युक्त्वा तं पुरुषं अधिकं धन्यं कुरुतम्।
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "dharma", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
Neither scholarship without virtue nor virtue without discernment is ideal; the text levels them as equally valuable and implicitly recommends their union. Social trust and dharma require both right understanding and right behavior.
Primarily dharma-śikṣā (ethical instruction), not a pañcalakṣaṇa enumerative passage.
Śāstra can be read as ‘right view’ and śīla as ‘right embodiment.’ Their equality hints that realization is incomplete if it remains only conceptual or only habitual.