Shloka 1
Sanatsujāta–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Saṃvāda: Pramāda as Mṛtyu
Chapter 42
अफ्--#क+ त्रिचत्वारिशो<्ध्याय: ब्रह्मज्ञानमें उपयोगी मौन
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca |
kasya eṣa maunaḥ kataran nu maunaṃ prabrūhi vidvan niṣṭha maunabhāvam |
maunena vidvān uta yāti maunaṃ kathaṃ mune maunam ihācaranti ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O learned one, what is this ‘silence’? And which, indeed, is true silence? Explain to me, O wise sage, the settled nature of silence. Does a knower attain the Silent—the Supreme—through silence? And how, O muni, do people in this world actually practice silence?”
सनत्युजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an inquiry into the true meaning of mauna: whether it is merely restraint of speech or a deeper inner stillness connected with Brahman-knowledge, and whether disciplined silence can serve as a means toward realizing the Supreme.
In the Sanatsujātīya section of the Udyoga Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra questions the sage Sanatsujāta about the nature and practice of silence, seeking clarity on spiritual discipline amid the moral crisis surrounding the impending Kurukṣetra war.