Shloka 8
Kāpavya-carita (कापव्यचरित) — Reforming Dasyus through Regulated Rāja-Dharma
यदैव प्राकृतं शास्त्रमविशेषेण वर्तते । तदैवमभ्यसेदेवं मेधावी वाप्यथोत्तरम्
yadaiva prākṛtaṃ śāstram aviśeṣeṇa vartate | tadaivam abhyased evaṃ medhāvī vāpy athottaram ||
毗湿摩说道：“当一般的行为准则不加分别而通行之时，便应依之修行；然而有识之士当更进一步，遵循更高、更具体、与时势相称的指引。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Apply the general rule when it is what prevails, but when one has discernment, one should adopt the higher, more situation-specific guidance rather than stopping at the merely general norm.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma is advising how to interpret and apply śāstra: first follow the commonly operative rule, yet in complex or exceptional contexts a wise person should move to the ‘uttara’ (more refined/specific) directive.