Shloka 26
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
ते त॑ प्रत्यूचुर्भगवंस्त्वयैव प्रेषितो गच्छ केदारखण्डं बधानेति | स एवमुक्तस्ताज्कछिष्यान् प्रत्युवाच तस्मात् तत्र सर्वे गच्छामो यत्र स गत इति,शिष्योंने उत्तर दिया--“भगवन्! आपहीने तो उसे यह कहकर भेजा था कि “जाओ, क्यारीकी टूटी हुई मेड़ बाँध दो।' शिष्योंके ऐसा कहनेपर उपाध्यायने उनसे कहा--“तो चलो, हम सब लोग वहीं चलें, जहाँ आरुणि गया है”
Te ta pratyūcur bhagavaṁs tvayaiva preṣito gaccha kedārakhaṇḍaṁ badhāneti | Sa evam uktas tāñ śiṣyān pratyuvāca tasmāt tatra sarve gacchāmo yatra sa gata iti |
They replied, “Revered sir, it was you yourself who sent him, saying, ‘Go and repair the broken embankment of the field.’” When the students spoke thus, the teacher answered them, “Then let us all go there—wherever he has gone.”
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights dharma in the guru–śiṣya context: a disciple’s sincere obedience in service should be met with the teacher’s accountability and protective concern, and the community (fellow students) should not remain passive when a duty-bound act may endanger someone.
The students explain that the disciple was sent by the teacher to mend a broken field-embankment. Hearing this, the teacher decides that everyone should go to the place where the disciple has gone—implying urgency and support for the task and the disciple.