Shloka 19
Sanatsujāta–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Saṃvāda: Brahmacarya and the Formless Brahman
Udyoga Parva 44
न कर्मणा सुकृतेनैव राजन् सत्यं जयेज्जुहुयाद् वा यजेद् वा । नैतेन बालोअमृत्युम भ्येति राजन् रतिं चासौ न लभत्यन्तकाले
na karmaṇā sukṛtenaiva rājan satyaṃ jayed juhuyād vā yajed vā | na etena bālo 'mṛtyum abhyeti rājan ratiṃ cāsau na labhaty antakāle rājan ||
O König, das Wirkliche—Brahman als Wahrheit—wird nicht allein durch verdienstvolle Taten errungen. Ob man Opfergaben ins Feuer gießt oder Opferhandlungen vollzieht: dadurch allein erlangt der Unwissende nicht die Unsterblichkeit, das heißt die Befreiung. Und in der letzten Stunde, o König, gewinnt er auch keinen inneren Frieden.
सनत्युजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
Meritorious deeds and ritual acts (oblations and sacrifices) are not, by themselves, sufficient to realize the ultimate Truth (Brahman) or attain deathlessness (mokṣa). Without true understanding and inner transformation, an ignorant person fails to gain liberation and lacks peace at death.
In the Udyoga Parva, Sanatsujāta instructs King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. The king, troubled by fear and moral uncertainty on the eve of the great conflict, receives a teaching that shifts emphasis from external ritual merit to inner knowledge and freedom from ignorance.