Shloka 52
Sanatsujāta–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Saṃvāda: Pramāda as Mṛtyu
Chapter 42
न वेदानां वेदिता कश्रिदस्ति वश्चित् त्वेतान् बुध्यते वापि राजन् | यो वेद वेदान् न स वेद वेद्यं सत्ये स्थितो यस्तु स वेद वेद्यम्
na vedānāṁ veditā kaścid asti vaścit tv etān budhyate vāpi rājan | yo veda vedān na sa veda vedyaṁ satye sthito yas tu sa veda vedyam ||
Sanatsujāta said: “O King, no one truly becomes a ‘knower of the Vedas’ in the sense of mastering their ultimate purport; at best, one only understands these texts in a limited way. Even one who claims to know the Vedas may still fail to know what is truly to be known. But the person who stands established in Truth—that one alone knows the real object of knowledge.”
सनत्युजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
Scriptural learning alone does not guarantee realization of the ultimate Truth. The ‘knowable’ (vedyam) is truly known only by one who is established in Satya—truthfulness and direct realization—rather than by mere mastery of Vedic texts.
In the Udyoga Parva, Sanatsujāta instructs the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) on higher wisdom. Here he redirects the king from reliance on textual authority and intellectual pride toward the ethical-spiritual foundation of Truth as the basis of genuine knowledge.