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 ||
اے دانشور! تم اس دھرم کو جانتے اور سمجھتے ہوئے بھی غفلت کرنے والے کی طرح مجھ سے کیوں بات کرتے ہو؟ دھرم کے راستے کو چھوڑ کر اب پھر مجھے اولاد پیدا کرنے کے لیے کیوں اُکساتے ہو؟
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.