Shloka 20
Adhyāya 249 — Mṛtyu-prādurbhāvaḥ (The Manifestation of Death) / Restraint of Tejas and Ordered Saṃhāra
आत्मनो व्यापिनो ज्ञानमिदं पुत्रानुशासनम् | प्रयताय प्रवक्तव्यं हितायानुगताय च
ātmano vyāpino jñānam idaṃ putrānuśāsanam | prayatāya pravaktavyaṃ hitāyānugatāya ca ||
बेटा, यह उपदेश सर्वव्यापी आत्मा का ज्ञान जगाने वाला है। इसे उसी के सामने कहना चाहिए जो संयमी और सावधान हो, जो हित की भावना रखता हो और जो श्रद्धापूर्वक अनुगामी हो—ताकि यह वाणी मात्र न रहकर कल्याणकारी मार्गदर्शन बने।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets a rule of eligibility (adhikāra) for transmitting Self-knowledge: instruction about the all-pervading ātman should be given only to a disciplined, well-intentioned, and devoted follower, so that the teaching is received properly and used for welfare.
Vyāsa, in the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, frames a spiritual instruction as a ‘son’s guidance’ and cautions that such knowledge should be communicated selectively—only to a prepared and faithful listener.