Today's Vedika insight
22 August 2026 · Mahābhārata, Vana Parva 3.313.117 (vulgate numbering)
तर्कोऽप्रतिष्ठः श्रुतयो विभिन्ना नासावृषिर्यस्य मतं न भिन्नम् । धर्मस्य तत्त्वं निहितं गुहायां महाजनो येन गतः स पन्थाः ॥
tarko ’pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnā | nāsāv ṛṣir yasya mataṃ na bhinnam | dharmasya tattvaṃ nihitaṃ guhāyāṃ | mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ ||
“Reasoning is not finally grounded; the revealed texts are diverse. There is no sage whose view is not distinct. The truth of dharma is placed in a cave; the path is that by which the great have gone.”
Vedika literal rendering, checked against the original text
“Dharma is not solved by clever argument alone. We also need context, conscience and the tested lives of trustworthy exemplars.”
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva 3.313.117 (vulgate numbering)
Vedika commentary
The verse names a real difficulty: reasoning can support opposed conclusions, texts require interpretation, and teachers disagree. Its answer is not blind following but embodied discernment—study the case, examine motives, and learn from lives in which truth, compassion and responsibility cohere.
Vedika distinguishes the original Sanskrit, a literal rendering, and an interpretive paraphrase so that the words of the text are never confused with explanation.
Source
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva 3.313.117 (vulgate numbering)
Traditional commentary
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Yakṣa-praśna; vulgate 3.313.117; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 17.186
Explanation
Vedika