Shloka 436
Agni’s Withdrawal to the Forest and Identification with Āṅgirasa (अग्न्याङ्गिरस-इतिहासः)
धर्मव्याधं तत: पृच्छ गत्वा तु मिथिलां पुरीम् । भगवन्! तो भी मेरा विचार यह है कि तुम्हें धर्मका यथार्थ ज्ञान नहीं है। विप्रवर! यदि तुम परम धर्म क्या है, यह नहीं जानते तो मिथिलापुरीमें धर्मव्याधके पास जाकर पूछो
dharmavyādhaṁ tataḥ pṛccha gatvā tu mithilāṁ purīm | bhagavan! tava me vicāra eṣaḥ—tvaṁ dharmasya yathārthaṁ jñānaṁ na vetti | vipravara! yadi tvaṁ paraṁ dharmaṁ kiṁ iti na jānāsi, tarhi mithilāpurīṁ gatvā dharmavyādhasya samīpe pṛccha |
Vị Bà-la-môn nói: “Vậy hãy đến thành Mithilā mà hỏi người thợ săn chánh trực ấy. Bậc đáng tôn kính, đây là nhận định của ta: ngươi vẫn chưa biết dharma theo nghĩa chân thật. Hỡi bậc tối thắng trong hàng Bà-la-môn, nếu ngươi không hiểu dharma tối thượng là gì, thì hãy đến Mithilā và hỏi vị dharma-vyādha.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
True understanding of dharma is measured by lived conduct and insight, not merely by status or learning; one should seek instruction from whoever genuinely embodies dharma—even a hunter—when one’s own knowledge is incomplete.
A brahmin addresses another revered person and directs him to Mithilā to consult the ‘dharma-vyādha,’ asserting that the listener lacks accurate knowledge of dharma and should learn the nature of supreme dharma from that exemplary figure.