Shloka 50
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
साड्रोपाड्ानपि यदि यश्न वेदानधीयते । वेदवेद्यं न जानीते वेदभारवहो हि सः,सांगोपांग वेद पढ़कर भी जो वेदोंके द्वारा जाननेके योग्य परमेश्वरको नहीं जानता, वह मूढ़ केवल वेदोंका बोझ ढोनेवाला है
sāṅgopāṅgān api yadi yaḥ naraḥ vedān adhīyate | veda-vedyaṃ na jānīte veda-bhāra-vaho hi saḥ ||
Yājñavalkya said: “Even if a man studies the Vedas together with their auxiliaries and appendages, if he does not know the One who is to be known through the Vedas, then he is truly only a dull carrier of the Vedas’ burden—learning without realization.”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Scriptural learning, even when complete with all auxiliaries, is incomplete if it does not culminate in knowing the Veda’s intended object—Brahman/Īśvara. Knowledge that remains only verbal or ritual becomes a burden rather than liberation.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Yājñavalkya emphasizes the difference between mere recitation/scholastic mastery of the Vedas and true realization of the Supreme that the Vedas point toward.