Shloka 4
अर्हणनिर्णयः
Decision on the Highest Honor at the Assembly
एवमेतन्न चाप्येवमेवं चैतन्न चान्यथा । इत्यूचुर्बहवस्तत्र वितण्डा वै परस्परम्
evam etan na cāpy evam evaṃ caitanna cānyathā | ity ūcur bahavas tatra vitaṇḍā vai parasparam ||
毗舍波耶那说：在那里，许多诡辩之徒彼此驳难不休，口称：“必当如此”，“不，不当如此”，“是的，唯此而已，断无他法。”在尤提士提罗王的祭殿中，博学的婆罗门趁诸仪之间的间隙展开尖锐争辩；其心多在驳倒对方，而非求得真义。尽管如此，会众仍因那罗陀等圣仙而熠熠生辉，宛如梵天朝廷中诸天与天仙圣者的集会。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the difference between genuine inquiry and contentious disputation: in sacred contexts, learning should serve truth and dharma, not ego-driven refutation (vitaṇḍā), which produces noise rather than clarity.
During Yudhiṣṭhira’s grand sacrificial proceedings, learned Brahmins and scholars, taking breaks between ritual duties, engage in mutual argument—asserting and denying points emphatically—while the wider assembly of sages (likened to Brahmā’s court) remains splendid.