Mahabharata 1.60.4 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 60, Shloka 4
Adhyāya 60: Devagaṇa–Ṛṣi–Prajāpatīnāṃ Sambhavaḥ
Origins of Divine Classes, Sages, and Progenitors
यन्नैति तपसा वक्षिन्न वेदाध्ययनेन च । न व्रतैनोंपवासैश्ल न प्रशान्त्या न मन्युना
yan naiti tapasā vakṣin na vedādhyayanena ca | na vratair nopavāsaiś ca na praśāntyā na manyunā ||
ഹേ വാക്പടുവേ! ആ പരമതത്ത്വം തപസ്സുകൊണ്ടും അല്ല, വേദാധ്യയനത്തിലൂടെയും അല്ല; വ്രതങ്ങളാലും അല്ല, ഉപവാസങ്ങളാലും അല്ല; ബാഹ്യശാന്തിയാലും അല്ല, ക്രോധത്താലും അല്ല (ലഭിക്കുന്നത്).
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses that the highest truth is not guaranteed by external disciplines—tapas, Vedic study, vows, fasting, or even a cultivated calm—nor by forceful emotion like anger. It points toward a deeper, inward realization beyond mere technique.
Śaunaka addresses the narrator (vakṣin), highlighting the extraordinary nature of Vyāsa’s realization: the tradition portrays him as possessing comprehensive Vedic and metaphysical knowledge not as a result of ordinary practices alone, but as an exceptional, innate attainment.
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