Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 2
Jaḍa Bharata Instructs King Rahūgaṇa: The Mind as Bondage and the Two Kṣetrajñas
तथैव राजन्नुरुगार्हमेध-वितानविद्योरुविजृम्भितेषु । न वेदवादेषु हि तत्त्ववाद:प्रायेण शुद्धो नु चकास्ति साधु: ॥ २ ॥
tathaiva rājann uru-gārhamedha- vitāna-vidyoru-vijṛmbhiteṣu na veda-vādeṣu hi tattva-vādaḥ prāyeṇa śuddho nu cakāsti sādhuḥ
Ô roi, les propos sur la relation maître–serviteur, roi–sujet et autres ne sont, pour l’essentiel, que des discours sur l’activité matérielle. Ceux qui s’attachent au karma-kāṇḍa des Veda placent leur foi dans les sacrifices et les actes extérieurs; pour eux, la connaissance de la vérité et l’essor spirituel se manifestent rarement.
In this verse, two words are significant — veda-vāda and tattva-vāda. According to Bhagavad-gītā, those who are simply attached to the Vedas and who do not understand the purpose of the Vedas or the Vedānta-sūtra are called veda-vāda-ratāḥ.
FAQs
This verse says that in elaborate household ritualism and in mere Vedic disputation, pure discussion of tattva (ultimate reality) is generally not revealed; realization of truth requires more than argument and ritual expansion.
Rahugana approached Bharata with pride and worldly assumptions; Bharata corrects him by showing that external learning, ritual sophistication, and scriptural debate often fail to uncover pure spiritual truth without genuine realization.
Don’t mistake information, debate, or religious formality for transformation—seek realized guidance, cultivate humility, and focus on inner purification and devotion that reveals truth beyond mere argument.