Shloka 236

उपाध्यायं महाराज धर्ममेवानुचिन्तयन्‌ । महाराज! वेद-वेदांगोंकी विस्तृत व्याख्याके ज्ञाता शुकदेवजीने धर्मका विचार करके बृहस्पतिको अपना गुरु बनाया

upādhyāyaṃ mahārāja dharmam evānucintayan | mahārāja! veda-vedāṅgāṃkī vistṛta-vyākhyāke jñātā śukadevājīne dharmakā vicār karke bṛhaspatiko apanā guru banāyā

قال بهيشما: «أيها الملك العظيم، إذ لم يكن يتأمل إلا الدارما، اختار معلّمًا. أيها المَهاراجا، إن شوكاديفا (Śukadeva)—المشهور بسعة فهمه وبسطه لشرح الفيدا وعلومها المساندة (Vedāṅga)—بعد أن تدبّر الاستقامة، اتخذ بْرِهَسْبَتي (Bṛhaspati) مُرشدًا روحيًّا له».

upādhyāyamthe teacher (preceptor)
upādhyāyam:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootupādhyāya
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
mahārājaO great king
mahārāja:
TypeNoun
Rootmahārāja
FormMasculine, Vocative, Singular
dharmadharma, righteousness
dharma:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootdharma
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
evaindeed, only
eva:
TypeIndeclinable
Rooteva
anucintayanreflecting upon, contemplating
anucintayan:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootanu-cint
FormŚatṛ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

भीष्म उवाच

B
Bhīṣma
M
Mahārāja (the king addressed, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira in context)
Ś
Śukadeva
B
Bṛhaspati
V
Veda
V
Vedāṅga
U
Upādhyāya (teacher/guru)

Educational Q&A

One should choose and approach a guru after careful reflection on dharma; true authority in teaching is grounded in ethical discernment and deep scriptural understanding.

Bhīṣma, instructing the king, cites Śukadeva as an exemplar: despite his learning in the Vedas and Vedāṅgas, he deliberates on dharma and accepts Bṛhaspati as his preceptor.