Shloka 20
भिक्षुलक्षणम्—एकचर्याः, अहिंसा, कैवल्याश्रमः
Marks of the Mendicant: Solitary Wandering, Non-Injury, and the Kaivalya-Discipline
प्रवक्तृणि द्वयान्याहुरात्मज्ञानीतराणि च । आत्मज्ञानि विशिष्टानि जन्माजन्मोपधारणात्,प्रवक्ता भी दो प्रकारके कहे गये हैं--आत्मज्ञ और अनात्मज्ञ। इनमें आत्मज्ञ पुरुष ही श्रेष्ठ हैं; क्योंकि वे जन्म और मृत्युके तत्त्वको समझते हैं
pravaktṝṇi dvayāny āhur ātmajñānītarāṇi ca | ātmajñāni viśiṣṭāni janmājanmopadhāraṇāt ||
ວະຍາສະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ຜູ້ສອນກໍຖືກເວົ້າວ່າມີສອງປະເພດ—ຜູ້ຮູ້ອັດຕາ (ຕົນ) ແລະ ຜູ້ບໍ່ຮູ້. ໃນນັ້ນ ຜູ້ຮູ້ອັດຕາເປັນຜູ້ປະເສີດກວ່າ ເພາະເຂົາເຈົ້າເຂົ້າໃຈຫຼັກການທີ່ຢູ່ເບື້ອງຫຼັງການເກີດ ແລະ ການເກີດຊ້ຳໆ (ແລະດັ່ງນັ້ນການຜ່ານຄວາມຕາຍດ້ວຍ)»។
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
True authority in teaching is grounded in ātma-jñāna (knowledge of the Self). Such a teacher is ‘superior’ because they understand the deeper law behind birth, rebirth, and death, and can therefore guide others toward liberation-oriented insight rather than merely worldly instruction.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa classifies instructors into two categories—Self-knowers and non-Self-knowers—and establishes a hierarchy of spiritual competence, emphasizing that insight into the cycle of birth (and its transcendence) is the mark of the highest teacher.