Shloka 16
Utkramaṇa-sthāna and Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇa: Yājñavalkya’s Instruction on Departure Pathways and Mortality Signs
ऐसा पुरुष पूछनेपर तत्वज्ञानपूर्वक ग्रन्थके अर्थकों जैसा समझता है, वैसा दूसरोंको भी बता सकता है ।।
na yaḥ saṃsatsu kathayed granthārthaṃ sthūlabuddhimān | sa kathaṃ mandavijñāno granthaṃ vakṣyati nirṇayāt ||
ヴァシシュタは言った。「タットヴァの知によって経典の義を会得した者のみが、問われたとき他者に正しく説き示すことができる。だが、粗なる知と鈍き理解のために、学匠の集いにおいてさえシャーストラの文義を語れぬ者が、乏しい知見のまま、いかで断乎としてそのタートパリヤ—究竟の趣意—を述べ得ようか。」
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Competent teaching requires true understanding: if someone cannot explain a text’s meaning among the learned, they cannot credibly claim to present its definitive purport. Authority in exposition rests on discernment and verified comprehension, not mere speech.
Vasiṣṭha is instructing his listener about the standards for interpreting and teaching śāstra. He contrasts genuine, knowledge-grounded exposition with shallow, uncertain talk, emphasizing that decisive interpretation (nirṇaya) belongs to the truly discerning.