Shloka 3
ध्ृतराष्टर उवाच अत्यन्तविद्यामिति यत् सनातनीं ब्रवीषि त्वं ब्रह्मचर्येण सिद्धाम् । अनारभ्यां वसतीह कार्यकाले कथं ब्राह्मुण्यममृतत्वं लभेत,धृतराष्ट्रने कहा--जो कर्मोंद्वारा आरम्भ होनेयोग्य नहीं है तथा कार्यके समयमें भी जो इस आत्मामें ही रहती है, उस अनन्त ब्रह्मसे सम्बन्ध रखनेवाली इस सनातन विद्याको यदि आप ब्रह्मचर्यसे ही प्राप्त होनेयोग्य बता रहे हैं तो मुझ-जैसे लोग ब्रह्मसम्बन्धी अमृतत्व (मोक्ष)-को कैसे पा सकते हैं?
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | atyantavidyām iti yat sanātanīṃ bravīṣi tvaṃ brahmacaryeṇa siddhām | anārabhyāṃ vasatīha kāryakāle kathaṃ brāhmaṇyam amṛtatvaṃ labheta |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “You speak of a timeless, highest knowledge—perfected through brahmacarya. Yet it is said to be ‘not initiated by action’ and to abide here within the Self even amid the time of duties. If so, how can people like me attain the brahman-state and the deathless freedom (mokṣa) connected with Brahman?”
ध्ृतराष्टर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a classic tension: liberation is described as an ever-present, action-independent knowledge abiding in the Self, yet it is also said to be perfected through disciplined brahmacarya. Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks how a householder-king engaged in duties can reach brahman-realization and deathlessness if the path seems tied to ascetic discipline.
In Udyoga Parva’s counsel-oriented setting before the great war, Dhṛtarāṣṭra questions a teaching he has heard about eternal knowledge and liberation. He seeks clarification on whether such realization is accessible to those immersed in royal responsibilities rather than living an ascetic, celibate life.