Shloka 8
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
का नु प्रज्ञा श्रुतं वा किं वृत्तिवा का नु ते मुने क्षिप्रमाचक्ष्व मे ब्रह्मन् श्रेयो यदिह मनन््यसे,मुने! आपके पास कौन-सी ऐसी बुद्धि, कैसा शास्त्रज्ञान अथवा कौन-सी वृत्ति है, जिससे आपका जीवन ऐसा बन गया है? ब्रह्म! आपके मतसे इस जगतमें मेरे लिये जो श्रेयका साधन हो, उसे शीघ्र बतावें
kā nu prajñā śrutaṃ vā kiṃ vṛttir vā kā nu te mune | kṣipram ācakṣva me brahman śreyo yad iha manyase, mune ||
Prahlāda said: “O sage, what wisdom is yours, what learning from sacred teaching, or what disciplined way of life has shaped you so? O Brahman, tell me quickly what you judge to be the highest good for me in this world.”
प्रह्माद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dharmic inquiry: true welfare (śreyaḥ) is sought not merely through intelligence or book-learning, but through the integrated sources of wisdom—discernment (prajñā), scriptural understanding (śruta), and lived discipline (vṛtti).
Prahlāda addresses a sage with reverence, asking what inner wisdom, scriptural learning, or way of life has made the sage exemplary, and requests immediate instruction on what would be most beneficial for him to pursue.