Shloka 6
Adhyāya 179 — Bharadvāja’s Reductionist Inquiry into Jīva and Pañcabhūta Dissolution
बोध्य उवाच उपदेशेन वर्तामि नानुशास्मीह कंचन । लक्षणं तस्य बक्ष्येडहं तत् स्वयं परिमृश्यताम्
bodhya uvāca | upadeśena vartāmi nānuśāsmīha kañcana | lakṣaṇaṃ tasya vakṣye'haṃ tat svayaṃ parimṛśyatām ||
قال بودھيا: «أيها الملك، إنما أعيش على هدي الوصية؛ ولا أتجرّأ أن آمر أحداً هنا. سأذكر العلامة الفارقة لتلك الوصية—فتأمّلها أنت بنفسك.»
बोध्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The speaker distinguishes between living by received guidance (upadeśa) and authoritatively commanding others (anuśāsana). The ethical emphasis is humility and personal practice: one should embody instruction and invite thoughtful reflection rather than impose rules.
In the Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Bodhya addresses a listener (implicitly a king) and frames his discourse: he will not issue orders, but will describe the defining sign of the teaching he follows, asking the listener to examine it independently.