Shloka 26
Adhyaya 4 — Jaimini Meets the Dharmapakshis: Four Doubts on the Mahabharata and the Opening of Narayana Doctrine
पक्षिण ऊचुः विषये सति वक्ष्यामो निर्विशङ्कः शृणुष्व तत् ।
कथं तन्न वदिष्यामो यदस्मद्बुद्धिगोचरम् ॥
pakṣiṇa ūcuḥ viṣaye sati vakṣyāmo nirviśaṅkaḥ śṛṇuṣva tat | kathaṃ tanna vadiṣyāmo yadasmadbuddhigocaram ||
وقالت الطيور: «إذا كان الأمر داخل نطاق معرفتنا فسننطق بلا تردّد—فاستمع. وكيف لا نُخبر بما يقع ضمن مدى فهمنا؟»
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FAQs
The verse models a dhārmic norm for instruction: one should teach confidently only what one truly knows (buddhi-gocara), avoiding both deceptive omniscience and timid silence. It also implies the listener’s duty to attend carefully (śṛṇuṣva) when competent guidance is offered.
This verse belongs primarily to the Purāṇic frame-dialogue (ākhyāna/upodghāta) rather than the five hallmark topics themselves (sarga, pratisarga, vaṃśa, manvantara, vaṃśānucarita). Functionally, it prepares the transmission of dharma/itihāsa material that may later include those categories.
Symbolically, the ‘birds’—often read as embodiments of discriminative awareness—declare the proper boundary of speech: truthful expression arises where insight reaches. ‘Fearless’ speech (nirviśaṅka) here is not bravado but alignment with known reality, a prerequisite for śāstric teaching and inner clarity.