Shloka 4
यश्न कार्यार्थतत्त्वज्ञो जानानोडपि न भाषते । सो<पि तेनैव पापेन लिप्यते नात्र संशय:,“इसी प्रकार जो किसी कार्यके वास्तविक रहस्यका ज्ञाता है, वह उसके पूछनेपर यदि जानते हुए भी नहीं बतलाता--मौन रह जाता है तो वह भी उसी पापसे लिप्त होता है; इसमें संशय नहीं है
yaḥ na kāryārtha-tattva-jñaḥ jānann api na bhāṣate | so 'pi tenaiva pāpena lipyate nātra saṃśayaḥ ||
Śaunaka said: Even one who truly knows the real purport and inner principle of a matter—if, when questioned, he remains silent and does not speak despite knowing—he too is stained by that very same sin; of this there is no doubt.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
A knower of the true purport of a matter has a moral responsibility to speak when asked; remaining silent despite knowing can make one share in the same sin that arises from the other’s ignorance or misdeed.
In Śaunaka’s discourse, a principle of dharma is being stated: not only the direct wrongdoer, but also the informed person who withholds needed truth when questioned becomes ethically implicated.