Shloka 31
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
श्रद्दधान: शुभां विद्यां हीनादपि समाप्रुयात् । सुवर्णमपि चामेध्यादाददीताविचारयन्,नीच वर्णके पुरुषके पास भी उत्तम विद्या हो तो उसे श्रद्धापूर्वक ग्रहण करनी चाहिये और सोना अपवित्र स्थानमें भी पड़ा हो तो उसे बिना हिच-किचाहटके उठा लेना चाहिये
śraddadhānaḥ śubhāṁ vidyāṁ hīnād api samāpnuyāt | suvarṇam api cāmedhyād ādadīta avicārayan |
Bhishma berkata: “Orang yang penuh keyakinan hendaknya menerima dan menguasai pengetahuan yang mulia meskipun datang dari seseorang yang berkedudukan rendah. Demikian pula, bila emas ditemukan bahkan di tempat yang najis, hendaknya diambil tanpa ragu.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True knowledge should be accepted wherever it is found. One should not reject good instruction because the teacher is socially ‘low’ or the context seems impure; value is determined by the quality of the teaching, just as gold remains valuable even if it lies in an unclean place.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he uses two analogies—learning from a low-born person and picking up gold from an impure place—to emphasize discernment and the primacy of virtue over external status.