'"
SECTION CCLX
"Yudhishthira said, 'Thou sayest that righteousness or duty depends upon
delicate considerations, that is indicated by the conduct of those that
are called good, that it is fraught with restraints (from numerous acts),
and that its indications are also contained in the Vedas. It seems to me,
however, that I have a certain inward light in consequence of which I can
discriminate between right and wrong by inferences.[1127] Numerous
questions that I had intended to ask thee have all been answered by thee.
There is one question, however, that I shall presently ask. It is not
prompted, O king, by desire of empty disputation. All these embodied
creatures, it seems, take birth, exist, and leave their bodies, of their
own nature. Duty and its reverse, therefore, cannot be ascertained, O
Bharata, by study of the scriptures alone.[1128] The duties of a person
who is well off are of one kind. Those of a person who has fallen into
distress are of another kind. How can duty respecting seasons of distress
be ascertained by reading the scriptures alone?[1129] The acts of the
good, thou hast said, constitute righteousness (or duty). The good,
however, are to be ascertained by their acts. The definition, therefore,
has for its foundation, a begging of the question, with the result that
what is meant by conduct of the good remains unsettled. It is seen that
some ordinary person commits unrighteousness while apparently achieving
righteousness.
Pages:
2088
2089
2090
2091
2092
2093
2094
2095
2096
2097
2098
2099
2100
2101
2102
2103
2104
2105
2106
2107
2108
2109
2110
2111
2112