Shloka 31
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
श्रद्दधान: शुभां विद्यां हीनादपि समाप्रुयात् । सुवर्णमपि चामेध्यादाददीताविचारयन्,नीच वर्णके पुरुषके पास भी उत्तम विद्या हो तो उसे श्रद्धापूर्वक ग्रहण करनी चाहिये और सोना अपवित्र स्थानमें भी पड़ा हो तो उसे बिना हिच-किचाहटके उठा लेना चाहिये
śraddadhānaḥ śubhāṁ vidyāṁ hīnād api samāpnuyāt | suvarṇam api cāmedhyād ādadīta avicārayan |
Bhishma berkata: “Seseorang yang penuh keyakinan hendaklah menerima dan menguasai ilmu yang mulia walaupun datang daripada orang yang rendah kedudukannya. Demikian juga, jika emas ditemui walaupun di tempat yang najis, hendaklah diambil tanpa ragu. Nilai hikmah dan kebajikan terletak pada keunggulan dirinya, bukan pada darjat sumbernya atau keadaan sekeliling.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True knowledge should be accepted wherever it is found. One should not reject good instruction because the teacher is socially ‘low’ or the context seems impure; value is determined by the quality of the teaching, just as gold remains valuable even if it lies in an unclean place.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he uses two analogies—learning from a low-born person and picking up gold from an impure place—to emphasize discernment and the primacy of virtue over external status.