Shloka 9
ततः क्रुद्धो गुरुः प्राह याज्ञवल्क्यं महामतिः मुच्यतां यत् त्वयाधीतं मत्तो विप्रावमानक
tataḥ kruddho guruḥ prāha yājñavalkyaṃ mahāmatiḥ mucyatāṃ yat tvayādhītaṃ matto viprāvamānaka
Then the teacher, inflamed with anger, said to the great-minded Yājñavalkya: “Release—give back—whatever you have learned from me, O one who has insulted a brāhmaṇa.”
Yājñavalkya’s guru (traditionally identified with Sage Vaiśampāyana in this episode)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Consequences of guru-apacāra and the sanctity of received Vedic knowledge
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Knowledge received through a guru is bound to the ethics of reverence; guru-apacāra fractures adhikāra and invites corrective discipline.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Honor mentors and sources; when conflict arises, seek reconciliation and accountability rather than contempt.
Vishishtadvaita: Śruti and its transmission are part of the Lord’s dispensation; violating the dharmic channel of knowledge obstructs God-centered realization.
FAQs
This verse frames sacred knowledge as something entrusted through dharma; violating respect toward a brāhmaṇa (and by extension the teacher’s authority) leads to forfeiture of what was received.
Learning is shown as relational and moral, not merely intellectual—knowledge is bound to humility, obedience, and proper conduct within the brāhmaṇa order.
Even in a non-devotional episode, the Vishnu Purana reinforces cosmic order (dharma) as the framework upheld under Vishnu’s sovereignty, where social and spiritual hierarchies regulate access to sacred truth.