Shloka 18

Devanagari script

वेदज्ञानि द्वयान्याहु: प्रवक्तूणीतराणि च । प्रवक्तृणि विशिष्टानि सर्वधर्मोपधारणात्‌,वेदज्ञ भी दो प्रकारके बताये गये हैं--प्रवक्ता और अप्रवक्ता। इनमें प्रवक्ता (प्रवचन करनेवाले) श्रेष्ठ हैं; क्योंकि वे वेदमें बताये हुए सम्पूर्ण धर्मोको धारण करनेवाले होते हैं

Transliteration

vedajñānī dvayāny āhuḥ pravaktṝṇy itarāṇi ca | pravaktṝṇi viśiṣṭāni sarvadharmopadhāraṇāt ||

Translation

Vyāsa dijo: «Los que conocen el Veda también se consideran de dos clases: los que lo enseñan y los que no. Entre ellos, los maestros son superiores, porque sostienen y llevan en sí toda la gama de dharmas enseñados en el Veda».

Word by Word

वेदज्ञाःknowers of the Veda

द्वयाःtwofold / of two kinds

आहुःthey say / have said

प्रवक्तॄन्expounders / teachers

इतरान्others

चand

प्रवक्तॄणिthe expounders

विशिष्टानिsuperior / distinguished

सर्वधर्मोपधारणात्because of (their) upholding of all dharmas

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Veda

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Vedic learning is not merely private knowledge; the one who can expound and transmit it is considered superior because teaching requires embodying and sustaining the full ethical and ritual framework (sarva-dharma) that the Veda enjoins.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa classifies Veda-knowers into two groups—expounders and non-expounders—and argues for the higher standing of the expounder, emphasizing the social and ethical responsibility of preserving dharma through instruction.