Shloka 4
Sanatsujāta–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Saṃvāda: Pramāda as Mṛtyu
Chapter 42
सनत्युजात उवाच नैनं सामान्यूचो वापि न यजूंष्यविचक्षणम् । त्रायन्ते कर्मण: पापाजन्न ते मिथ्या ब्रवीम्यहम्,सनत्सुजातने कहा--राजन्! मैं तुमसे असत्य नहीं कहता; ऋक्ू, साम अथवा यजुर्वेद कोई भी पाप करनेवाले अज्ञानीकी उसके पापकर्मसे रक्षा नहीं करते
sanatsujāta uvāca | nainaṃ sāmāny uco vāpi na yajūṃṣy avicakṣaṇam | trāyante karmaṇaḥ pāpāj jan te mithyā bravīmy aham ||
Sanatsujāta said: “O King, I do not speak falsely to you. Neither the Sāman chants nor the Ṛg-verses, nor even the Yajus formulas can protect an undiscerning man from the sin that arises from his own actions. Sacred recitation, when divorced from discernment and right conduct, does not rescue one from the moral consequences of wrongdoing.”
सनत्युजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vedic hymns and ritual formulas, by themselves, do not absolve a person of the consequences of sinful actions; without discernment and righteous conduct, learning and recitation cannot ‘save’ one from karma.
Sanatsujāta is instructing the king in moral and spiritual matters, emphasizing that mere scriptural recitation or ritual knowledge is insufficient if one continues wrongful deeds; ethical transformation is required.