Shloka 23
Nārada’s Darśana of Viśvarūpa Nārāyaṇa and the Caturmūrti Doctrine (नारदस्य नारायणदर्शनं चतुर्मूर्तिविचारश्च)
गुरु: प्लावयिता तस्य ज्ञानं प्लव इहोच्यते । विज्ञाय कृतकृत्यस्तु तीर्णस्तदुभयं त्यजेत्,गुरु इस संसारसागरसे पार उतारनेवाले हैं और उनका दिया हुआ ज्ञान यहाँ नौकाके समान बताया जाता है। मनुष्य उस ज्ञानको पाकर भवसागरसे पार और कृतकृत्य हो जाता है। जैसे नदीको पार कर लेनेपर मनुष्य नाव और नाविक दोनोंको छोड़ देता है, उसी प्रकार मुक्त हुआ पुरुष गुरु और ज्ञान दोनोंको छोड़ दे
guruḥ plāvayitā tasya jñānaṃ plava ihochyate | vijñāya kṛtakṛtyas tu tīrṇas tad-ubhayaṃ tyajet ||
Janaka says: The guru is the one who ferries a person across; and the knowledge bestowed by him is described here as the boat. Having realized that knowledge, one becomes fulfilled in purpose and crosses beyond worldly becoming. Just as, after crossing a river, a person leaves behind both the boat and the boatman, so too the liberated person lets go of both the guru (as an external support) and the knowledge (as a means), resting in freedom itself.
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The guru and the teaching are indispensable means for crossing saṃsāra, but once liberation is realized, even these supports are to be relinquished—like leaving behind boat and boatman after reaching the far shore.
King Janaka, speaking in a discourse on liberation, uses a river-crossing metaphor: the guru functions as the ferryman and the imparted knowledge as the boat; after the seeker attains the goal, attachment to both the guide and the method is abandoned.