Shloka 13
Utkramaṇa-sthāna and Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇa: Yājñavalkya’s Instruction on Departure Pathways and Mortality Signs
यो हि वेदे च शास्त्रे च ग्रन्थधारणतत्पर: । नच ग्रन्थार्थतत्त्वज्ञस्तस्य तद्धारणं वृथा,जो वेद और शास्त्रके ग्रन्थोंको तो याद रखनेमें तत्पर है, किंतु उनके यथार्थ तत्त्वको नहीं समझता, उसका वह याद रखना व्यर्थ है
yo hi vede ca śāstre ca granthadhāraṇatatparaḥ | na ca granthārthatattvajñas tasya taddhāraṇaṃ vṛthā ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “One may be eager to memorize the texts of the Veda and the śāstras; yet if one does not truly understand their real meaning and essential principle (tattva), that memorization becomes futile.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mere rote learning of sacred and authoritative texts is not the goal; the point is to grasp their tattva—the essential truth and intended meaning—so that knowledge becomes transformative rather than ornamental.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vasiṣṭha is instructing the listener by contrasting external scholarship (memorizing many texts) with inner comprehension (knowing their true purport), emphasizing that the latter alone fulfills the purpose of study.