Shloka 20
ततस्तामनवद्याड़ीं ग्राहयामास स द्विज: । मन्त्रग्रामं तदा राजन्नथर्वशिरसि श्रुतम्,राजन! तब ब्राह्मणने निर्दोष अंगोंवाली कुन्तीको उस मन्त्रसमूहका उपदेश दिया जो अथर्ववेदीय उपनिषदमें प्रसिद्ध है
tatas tām anavadyāṅgīṃ grāhayāmāsa sa dvijaḥ | mantragrāmaṃ tadā rājan atharvaśirasi śrutam ||
Then that Brahmin instructed Kuntī—she whose limbs were without blemish—by having her learn a collection of sacred formulas, O King, as heard in the Atharvaśiras. In the narrative frame, this marks the careful transmission of potent knowledge under ethical restraint: a revered teacher entrusts a disciplined recipient with mantras whose power demands purity, discretion, and responsible use.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Powerful knowledge (mantras) should be transmitted only through a qualified teacher to a worthy recipient, with emphasis on purity, discipline, and ethical restraint; its authority is grounded in śruti (here linked to Atharvaśiras).
A Brahmin teaches Kuntī a set of mantras associated with Atharvaśiras, formally initiating her into a potent body of sacred formulas—an event that later becomes consequential in her life story.