Shloka 20
ययातिः शर्मिष्ठायाः ऋतुप्रार्थनां धर्मसंवादं च शृणोति
Yayāti and Śarmiṣṭhā: request in ṛtu and discourse on truth and dharma
फलिष्यति न ते विद्या यत् त्वं मामात्थ तत् तथा | अध्यापयिष्यामि तु यं तस्य विद्या फलिष्यति,तुमने जो मुझे यह कहा कि तुम्हारी विद्या सफल नहीं होगी, सो ठीक है; किंतु मैं जिसे यह विद्या पढ़ा दूँगा, उसकी विद्या तो सफल होगी ही
kaca uvāca | phaliṣyati na te vidyā yat tvaṁ mām āttha tat tathā | adhyāpayiṣyāmi tu yaṁ tasya vidyā phaliṣyati ||
Kacha said: “Your knowledge will not bear fruit—what you have said to me is indeed so. Yet the one whom I shall teach this knowledge—his knowledge will surely bear fruit.” In the ethical tension between a teacher’s curse and a student’s resolve, Kacha accepts the consequence upon his teacher while safeguarding the usefulness of the learning by passing it onward.
कच उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when knowledge is constrained by a curse or personal limitation, its ethical use can be preserved through responsible transmission; Kacha accepts the stated consequence yet ensures the learning remains beneficial by teaching it onward.
Kacha responds to the declaration that the teacher’s own knowledge will not ‘bear fruit’ for him; he agrees, but asserts that whoever learns the same knowledge from him will still gain its effective benefit.