Shloka 6
Adhyaya 4 — Jaimini Meets the Dharmapakshis: Four Doubts on the Mahabharata and the Opening of Narayana Doctrine
बन्धुवर्गस्तथा मित्रं यच्चेष्टमपरं गृहे ।
त्यक्त्वा गच्छति तत्सर्वं न जहाति सरस्वती ॥
bandhuvargas tathā mitraṃ yac ceṣṭam aparaṃ gṛhe | tyaktvā gacchati tat sarvaṃ na jahāti sarasvatī ||
إنّ دائرة الأقارب والأصدقاء وكلَّ ما هو عزيز في البيت—يتركه المرء كلَّه ويمضي؛ أمّا ساراسفتي (العِلم/المعرفة الحقّة) فلا تفارق الإنسان.
FAQs
The verse contrasts perishable supports—family, friends, and household comforts—with imperishable wealth: vidyā. At death or separation, social ties and possessions are left behind, but cultivated knowledge (especially dharmic understanding and refined speech) remains one’s enduring companion and capital.
This verse is primarily didactic (ācāra/dharma-upadeśa) rather than a direct statement of the pañcalakṣaṇa topics (sarga, pratisarga, vaṃśa, manvantara, vaṃśānucarita). It belongs to the Purana’s ethical instruction layer that accompanies (but is distinct from) genealogical/cosmological narration.
Sarasvatī here symbolizes Vāk and Jñāna-śakti: the inner continuity of consciousness refined into articulate wisdom. Externally, relationships and domestic identity are contingent; internally, the ‘goddess of speech/knowledge’ signifies the subtle samskāra of learning that accompanies the jīva—hence knowledge is portrayed as the non-abandoning śakti.