Shloka 18
Adhyāya 314 — हिमवदाश्रमः, शक्तिक्षेपकथा, तथा स्वाध्यायविधिः
Himalayan Hermitage, the Myth of the Thrown Spear, and Rules of Vedic Study
सांख्यज्ञानं च तत्त्वेन पृथग्योगं तथैव च । अरिष्टानि च तत्त्वानि वक्तुमरहसि सत्तम । विदितं सर्वमेतत् ते पाणावामलकं यथा
Janaka uvāca:
Sāṅkhyajñānaṃ ca tattvena pṛthag yogaṃ tathaiva ca |
Ariṣṭāni ca tattvāni vaktum arhasi sattama |
Viditaṃ sarvam etat te pāṇāv āmalakaṃ yathā ||
Janaka dit : «Expose-moi, selon leur vraie nature, la connaissance du Sāṅkhya et, séparément, la discipline du Yoga ; et décris avec justesse les signes funestes qui présagent la mort. Ô le meilleur des hommes de bien, tu es digne d’en parler, car tout cela t’est aussi clair qu’un fruit d’āmalaka posé dans la paume de ta main.»
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a request for clear, truthful instruction: distinguish Sāṅkhya (discriminative knowledge of reality) from Yoga (practical discipline), and explain ariṣṭas—signs understood as forewarnings of death—emphasizing that authentic teaching should present each domain precisely and without confusion.
King Janaka addresses a revered interlocutor (called “sattama”), asking for an authoritative exposition on Sāṅkhya, Yoga, and death-portents, praising the teacher’s mastery by the simile of the āmalaka fruit visible in one’s palm.