Shloka 236
Mahāvasu’s Fall by Speech-Error and Release through Devotion (अज-विवादः वसोः शापः विमोचनं च)
उपाध्यायं महाराज धर्ममेवानुचिन्तयन् । महाराज! वेद-वेदांगोंकी विस्तृत व्याख्याके ज्ञाता शुकदेवजीने धर्मका विचार करके बृहस्पतिको अपना गुरु बनाया
upādhyāyaṃ mahārāja dharmam evānucintayan | mahārāja! veda-vedāṅgāṃkī vistṛta-vyākhyāke jñātā śukadevājīne dharmakā vicār karke bṛhaspatiko apanā guru banāyā
Bhīṣma said: “O great king, reflecting only on dharma, he chose a teacher. O Mahārāja, Śukadeva—renowned for his expansive understanding and exposition of the Vedas and their auxiliary disciplines—after deliberating upon righteousness, accepted Bṛhaspati as his spiritual preceptor.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should choose and approach a guru after careful reflection on dharma; true authority in teaching is grounded in ethical discernment and deep scriptural understanding.
Bhīṣma, instructing the king, cites Śukadeva as an exemplar: despite his learning in the Vedas and Vedāṅgas, he deliberates on dharma and accepts Bṛhaspati as his preceptor.