Shloka 43
Yajña-bhāga-vyavasthā and the Pravṛtti–Nivṛtti Framework (यज्ञभागव्यवस्था तथा प्रवृत्तिनिवृत्तिधर्मविवेचनम्)
चत्वारस्ते वयं शिष्या गुरुपुत्रश्न पजचम: । इह वेदा: प्रतिष्ठेरन्नेष न: कांक्षितो वर:,ब्राह्मणाय सदा देयं ब्रह्म शुश्रूषवे तथा
catvārās te vayaṁ śiṣyā guruputraś ca pañcamaḥ | iha vedāḥ pratiṣṭherann eṣa naḥ kāṅkṣito varaḥ | brāhmaṇāya sadā deyaṁ brahma śuśrūṣave tathā ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Nous étions quatre disciples, et le fils du maître était le cinquième. Ici, les Veda furent solidement établis ; telle était la grâce que nous désirions. Aussi le savoir sacré doit-il toujours être transmis à un brāhmaṇa digne, qui sert avec révérence et l’esprit d’un disciple attentif.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacred knowledge (brahma/Vedic learning) should be transmitted responsibly: it is to be given to a qualified brāhmaṇa who approaches with reverent service and disciplined attentiveness (śuśrūṣā), so that the Vedas remain firmly established.
Bhīṣma recalls a traditional instructional setting with four disciples and the teacher’s son as the fifth, emphasizing that their aim was the firm establishment of Vedic learning, and drawing from that memory a rule about to whom such knowledge should be imparted.