Shloka 26
श्रेयस: श्रेयसो<प्येवं वृत्तं लोको<नुवर्तते । सदैव हि गुरोर्वृत्तमनुवर्तन्ति मानवा:
śreyasaḥ śreyaso 'pyevaṁ vṛttaṁ loko 'nuvartate | sadaiva hi guror vṛttam anuvartanti mānavāḥ ||
Gayon din, sinusundan ng mga tao ang asal ng taong marangal—maging ng pinakamarangal sa mga mabubuti. Sapagkat likas sa tao na laging tularan ang gawi ng mga nakatatanda at mga guro.
हुमत्सेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Society takes its moral direction from exemplars: people naturally imitate the conduct of the best persons, especially elders and teachers; therefore the virtuous must be careful that their behavior itself teaches dharma.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Humatsena states a general principle about human psychology and social ethics: the world follows the behavior of superior persons, and humans habitually copy the conduct of gurus and elders.