Shloka 34

ध्यानयोगः — Dhyāna-Yoga

Discipline of Meditation and Mental Restraint

Devanagari script

तद्‌ विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्ननेन" सेवया5 । उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिन:

Transliteration

tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā | upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattvadarśinaḥ ||

Translation

Erkenne jene Wahrheit, indem du dich einem verwirklichten Lehrer näherst: verneige dich in Ehrfurcht, frage mit aufrichtigem, forschendem Geist und leiste Dienst. Die Weisen, die die Wirklichkeit unmittelbar geschaut haben, werden dich in wahrem Wissen unterweisen.

Word by Word

• तत्: that (truth/knowledge)
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• विद्धि: know (you should know)
• विद्धि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद्
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular, Parasmaipada

• प्रणिपातेन: by prostration (reverent bowing)
• प्रणिपातेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रणिपात
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• परिप्रश्नेन: by (humble) questioning
• परिप्रश्नेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिप्रश्न
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• सेवया: by service
• सेवया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेवा
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• उपदेक्ष्यन्ति: they will instruct
• उपदेक्ष्यन्ति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-√दिश्
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Dative, Singular

• ज्ञानम्: knowledge
• ज्ञानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• ज्ञानिनः: the knowers, the wise
• ज्ञानिनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञानिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तत्त्वदर्शिनः: those who see the truth (reality-seers)
• तत्त्वदर्शिनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तत्त्वदर्शिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• jñāninaḥ (wise teachers)
• tattvadarśinaḥ (seers of reality)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True knowledge is received through the right approach to a realized teacher: humility (praṇipāta), sincere inquiry (paripraśna), and selfless service (sevā). These attitudes make the student fit to be taught, and the tattvadarśī jñānins then transmit liberating insight.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the midst of the Kurukṣetra crisis, instruction turns to the practical means of gaining spiritual understanding. The verse directs the seeker to go to those who have realized the truth and learn through reverence, honest questioning, and service—framing knowledge as a lived transmission, not mere argument.