Shloka 51
Sanatsujāta–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Saṃvāda: Pramāda as Mṛtyu
Chapter 42
छन्दांसि नाम द्विपदां वरिष्ठ स्वच्छन्दयोगेन भवन्ति तत्र । छन््दोविदस्तेन च तानधीत्य गता न वेदस्य न वेद्यमार्या:
chandāṁsi nāma dvipadāṁ variṣṭha svacchandayogena bhavanti tatra | chandovidastena ca tān adhītya gatā na vedasya na vedyam āryāḥ ||
Sanatsujāta said: “O best of men, the Vedic metres—pre‑eminent among all forms of speech—abide there by their own free, self-validating connection. Therefore, those who truly know the metres, having studied them, do not remain confined to the mere letter of the Veda; the noble ones reach what is to be known through the Veda—the Supreme Reality itself.”
सनत्युजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
True Vedic learning is not merely recitation or ritual literacy; mastery of the Veda’s inner structure (here symbolized by chandas) leads the noble seeker beyond the text to the Veda’s intended object—ultimate Reality (the vedyam).
In the Sanatsujātīya section of the Udyoga Parva, Sanatsujāta instructs a royal listener on higher knowledge. This verse emphasizes that Vedic forms are intrinsically authoritative and that genuine Vedic expertise culminates in realizing the Supreme, not in stopping at external scripture alone.