Shloka 17
कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve
Devanagari script
न धर्मवचन वाचा नैव बुद्धयेति नः श्रुतम् । इति बार्हस्पतं ज्ञानं प्रोवाच मघवा स्वयम्
Transliteration
na dharmavacana-vācā naiva buddhayeti naḥ śrutam | iti bārhaspataṃ jñānaṃ provāca maghavā svayam ||
Translation
毗湿摩说道：“我们听闻：法（dharma）并非仅凭辞令便可定夺，也非仅凭理智（推理）便可裁定。此乃布里哈斯帕提（Bṛhaspati）之教：法当由经典（śāstra）之证与理性探究之力合而判定——此说乃摩伽婆（因陀罗）亲自宣示。”
Word by Word
{'na''not', 'dharma': 'righteousness
{'na':
right order', 'vacana''statement
right order', 'vacana':
authoritative utterance (often scriptural or traditional)', 'vācā''by speech
authoritative utterance (often scriptural or traditional)', 'vācā':
eloquence', 'naiva''not even
eloquence', 'naiva':
nor indeed', 'buddhayā (buddhi)''by intellect
nor indeed', 'buddhayā (buddhi)':
rational faculty', 'iti''thus
rational faculty', 'iti':
in this manner', 'naḥ''by us
in this manner', 'naḥ':
for us', 'śrutam''heard
for us', 'śrutam':
received tradition', 'bārhaspatam''belonging to Bṛhaspati
received tradition', 'bārhaspatam':
Bṛhaspati’s', 'jñānam''knowledge
Bṛhaspati’s', 'jñānam':
teaching', 'provāca''said
teaching', 'provāca':
proclaimed', 'maghavā''Maghavān, an epithet of Indra', 'svayam': 'himself
proclaimed', 'maghavā':
Speaker
भीष्म उवाच
Characters & Entities
B
BhishmaB
BrihaspatiI
Indra (Maghavān)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Educational Q&A
Dharma cannot be fixed by rhetoric alone or by abstract reasoning alone; it is best discerned by integrating authoritative teaching (śāstra/tradition) with rational examination (buddhi/yukti).
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma cites a doctrinal position attributed to Bṛhaspati and affirmed by Indra, emphasizing a balanced method for judging dharma.