Salya was stunned.
The Puranas wherein right conduct is always preached, sometimes set out
stories in which conduct, not in conformity with Dharma, seems condoned. Is it right, one
may ask, for religious books thus to seem to justify wrong?
A little reflection will enable one to see the matter in proper light.
It is necessary to bring home the fact that even wise, good and great men are liable to
fall into error.
That is why the Puranas, although ever seeking to instil Dharma,
contain narratives to show how in this world even good people sometimes sin against
Dharma, as though irresistibly driven to do so.
This is to press home the truth that how so ever learned one may be,
humility and constant vigilance are absolutelynecessary if one wishes to avoid evil.
Why indeed, did the great author’s of our epics write about the
lapses of Rama in the Ramayana and Yudhishthira in the Mahabharata?
