Shloka 7
अजाश्न पृश्नयश्चैव सिकताश्चैव भारत । अरुणा: केतवश्चैव स्वाध्यायेन दिव॑ गता:,“भारत! अज, पृश्चि, सिकत, अरुण और केतु नामवाले ऋषिगणोंने तो स्वाध्यायके द्वारा ही स्वर्ग प्राप्त कर लिया था
ajāśna pṛśnyayaś caiva sikatāś caiva bhārata | aruṇāḥ ketavaś caiva svādhyāyena divaṃ gatāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Bhārata, the sages named Ajāśna, Pṛśniya, Sikata, Aruṇa, and Ketu attained heaven solely through svādhyāya—devoted self-study and recitation of sacred learning.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
That svādhyāya—steady self-study and recitation of sacred knowledge with discipline—can itself be a powerful, sufficient means of spiritual ascent, capable of yielding the fruit of heaven.
Vaiśampāyana, addressing the listener as ‘Bhārata’, cites exemplary sages (Ajāśna, Pṛśniya, Sikata, Aruṇa, Ketu) as precedents who reached heaven through svādhyāya alone, reinforcing a didactic point within the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right practice.