Chapter XVI · Śloka 24
तस्माच्छास्त्रं प्रमाणं ते कार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ ।
ज्ञात्वा शास्त्रविधानोक्तं कर्म कर्तुमिहार्हसि ॥
ज्ञात्वा शास्त्रविधानोक्तं कर्म कर्तुमिहार्हसि ॥
tasmāc chāstraṃ pramāṇaṃ te kāryākārya-vyavasthitau |
jñātvā śāstra-vidhānoktaṃ karma kartum ihārhasi ||
jñātvā śāstra-vidhānoktaṃ karma kartum ihārhasi ||
Therefore, let scripture be your authority in determining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Knowing what is declared by scriptural injunction, you should perform action here.
The chapter's concluding verse establishes śāstra as pramāṇa — the valid means of knowledge for ethical discrimination. This is not blind rule-following: one must 'know' (jñātvā) the purport of the injunction before acting. Scripture functions as the accumulated wisdom of seers who have transcended the very delusions described in this chapter.