Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 4
Baka Dālbhya at Avakīrṇa-tīrtha: Rāṣṭra-kṣaya and Release through Prasāda (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 40)
तस्य राजन् गुरुकुले वसतो नित्यमेव च । समाप्तिं नागमद् विद्या नापि वेदा विशाम्पते,प्रजानाथ! नरेश्वर! गुरुकुलमें सर्वदा रहते हुए भी न तो उनकी विद्या समाप्त हुई और न वे सम्पूर्ण वेद ही पढ़ सके
tasya rājan gurukule vasato nityam eva ca | samāptiṁ nāgamad vidyā nāpi vedā viśāmpate prajānātha nareśvara ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O King, though he lived continually in his teacher’s household, his learning never reached completion; nor, O lord of the people and ruler of men, was he able to master the Vedas in their entirety.”
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Persistent residence in a guru’s household does not automatically guarantee mastery; true learning requires capacity, method, and fruition, and the verse underscores humility about the limits of one’s attainment even within a disciplined setting.
Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses the king and remarks about a certain person’s prolonged life in the gurukula, emphasizing that despite continuous study he neither completed his vidyā nor mastered the Vedas fully.
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