Shloka 19
भिक्षुलक्षणम्—एकचर्याः, अहिंसा, कैवल्याश्रमः
Marks of the Mendicant: Solitary Wandering, Non-Injury, and the Kaivalya-Discipline
विज्ञायन्ते हि यैवेंदा: सधर्मा: सक्रियाफला: । सधर्मा निखिला वेदा: ४28 भ्यो विनि:सृता:
vijñāyante hi yaivendāḥ sadharmāḥ sakriyāphalāḥ | sadharmā nikhilā vedāḥ pravaktṛbhyo viniḥsṛtāḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “Indeed, it is through these teachers that the Vedas are understood—together with dharma, with the duties to be performed, and with the fruits that follow from action. The entire body of the Vedas, inseparable from dharma, issues forth from the mouths of the expounders; thus others come to know the Vedic teaching in its full ethical and practical meaning.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vedic knowledge is not merely text; it is grasped through qualified expounders who transmit the Vedas together with dharma, prescribed action, and the understanding of results—so the ethical and practical meaning becomes clear.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa emphasizes the authority and necessity of teachers (pravaktṛs) for the proper comprehension and living transmission of the Vedas and dharma.