Shloka 23

Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve

Devanagari script

एतत्‌ ते कथितं पुत्र यथावदनुपृच्छत: । सांख्यज्ञाने तथा योगे यथावदनुवर्णितम्‌

Transliteration

etat te kathitaṃ putra yathāvad anupṛcchataḥ | sāṅkhyajñāne tathā yoge yathāvad anuvarṇitam ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Mon fils, en réponse à tes questions posées avec soin, je t’ai exposé cela correctement et dans l’ordre voulu. Cette même matière est décrite avec exactitude dans les disciplines du Sāṅkhya (connaissance discriminante) et du Yoga (pratique spirituelle).»

Word by Word

• {'etat': 'this (teaching/matter just stated)', 'te': 'to you', 'kathitam': 'told, explained', 'putra': 'son

• a respectful address to the listener', 'yathāvat': 'properly, correctly, as it should be', 'anupṛcchataḥ': 'of one who asks follow-up questions

• from your orderly inquiry', 'sāṅkhya-jñāne': 'in Sāṅkhya knowledge

• the doctrine of analysis/discrimination', 'tathā': 'and also

• likewise', 'yoge': 'in Yoga

• the discipline of practice/union', 'anuvarṇitam': 'described in sequence

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha)
• the son/disciple being addressed (listener)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma affirms that his instruction has been given correctly and systematically, and that the same truth is authoritatively taught in both Sāṅkhya (right understanding through discrimination) and Yoga (right practice leading to realization).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s post-war instruction, Bhīṣma, speaking as the elder teacher, concludes a segment of teaching by acknowledging the listener’s questions and grounding his answers in the recognized philosophical traditions of Sāṅkhya and Yoga.