Shloka 13
Utkramaṇa-sthāna and Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇa: Yājñavalkya’s Instruction on Departure Pathways and Mortality Signs
यो हि वेदे च शास्त्रे च ग्रन्थधारणतत्पर: । नच ग्रन्थार्थतत्त्वज्ञस्तस्य तद्धारणं वृथा
yo hi vede ca śāstre ca granthadhāraṇatatparaḥ | na ca granthārthatattvajñas tasya taddhāraṇaṃ vṛthā ||
Vasiṣṭha dit : «On peut s’appliquer à mémoriser les textes du Veda et des śāstra ; mais si l’on n’en comprend pas vraiment le sens et le principe essentiel, cette mémorisation devient vaine.»
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mere rote learning of sacred and authoritative texts is not the goal; the point is to grasp their tattva—the essential truth and intended meaning—so that knowledge becomes transformative rather than ornamental.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vasiṣṭha is instructing the listener by contrasting external scholarship (memorizing many texts) with inner comprehension (knowing their true purport), emphasizing that the latter alone fulfills the purpose of study.