Shloka 17
भूमिदान-प्रसङ्गः । काश्यपी-पृथिवी तथा उतथ्य-वरुण-संवादः
Land-gift episode; Pṛthivī Kāśyapī; Utathya–Varuṇa dispute
एक ओर रत्नोंसे भरी हुई सम्पूर्ण पृथ्वी प्राप्त होती हो और दूसरी ओर यह सर्वोत्तम ज्ञान मिल रहा हो तो उस पृथ्वीको छोड़कर इस सर्वोत्तम ज्ञानको ही श्रवण एवं ग्रहण करना चाहिये। धर्मज्ञ पुरुष ऐसा ही माने ।।
ekataḥ ratnaiḥ pūrṇā samastā pṛthivī prāpyeta, aparataḥ ca idaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ jñānaṃ labhyeta; tadā tāṃ pṛthivīṃ parityajya idaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ jñānam eva śrotavyaṃ grāhyaṃ ca. dharmajñaḥ puruṣaḥ evam eva manyeta. na aśraddadhānāya, na nāstikāya, na naṣṭa-dharmāya, na nirghṛṇāya; na hetu-duṣṭāya, guru-dviṣe vā, na anātma-bhūtāya—nivedyam etat.
Bhīṣma disse: “Se, de um lado, alguém pudesse obter a terra inteira repleta de joias, e, de outro lado, estivesse disponível este conhecimento supremo, então deve-se abandonar essa terra e, em vez disso, ouvir e acolher este saber excelso. Assim deve julgar o conhecedor do dharma. Este ensinamento não deve ser transmitido a quem não tem fé, nem ao ateu (nāstika), nem ao destruidor do dharma, nem ao cruel, nem àquele que se vale da sofística para encobrir o mal, nem ao que odeia o guru, nem ao que se identifica com o corpo; a tais pessoas não deve ser revelado.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Supreme knowledge (śreṣṭha-jñāna) is more valuable than even a jewel-filled earth; therefore one should prioritize hearing and assimilating it. Yet such instruction must be given only to qualified recipients—those with faith, moral integrity, compassion, respect for the teacher, and freedom from mere bodily self-identification.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues his post-war instruction on dharma. Here he contrasts worldly sovereignty and wealth with the higher worth of liberating knowledge, and he sets boundaries on transmission: the teaching should not be disclosed to people who are faithless, atheistic, destructive of dharma, cruel, sophistical in wrongdoing, hostile to the guru, or entrenched in dehābhimāna (body-identification).