Shloka 167
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
श्रुतं ते न श्रुतं मन्ये मृषा वापि श्रुतं श्रुतम् । अथवा श्रुतसंकाशं श्रुतमन्यच्छुतं त्वया,मैं समझती हूँ कि आपने पंचशिखाचार्यसे शास्त्रका श्रवण करके भी श्रवण नहीं किया है अथवा उनसे यदि कोई शास्त्र सुना है तो उसे सुनकर भी मिथ्या कर दिया है; या यह भी हो सकता है कि आपने वेदशास्त्र-जैसा प्रतीत होनेवाला कोई और ही शास्त्र उनसे सुना हो
śrutaṁ te na śrutaṁ manye mṛṣā vāpi śrutaṁ śrutam | athavā śrutasaṅkāśaṁ śrutam anyac chrutaṁ tvayā ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Penso que aquilo que tu ‘ouviste’ na verdade não foi ouvido de modo algum; ou então, embora o tenhas ouvido, transformaste essa audição em falsidade. Ou talvez tenhas escutado outro ensinamento que apenas se assemelha à śruti verdadeira—algo que só parece ser o Veda.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mere exposure to scripture is not enough: one must truly comprehend and live it. Otherwise, ‘hearing’ becomes empty, distorted into falsehood, or replaced by teachings that only imitate Vedic authority.
Bhīṣma rebukes his interlocutor’s claim to learning, suggesting that the person either failed to grasp what was taught, deliberately twisted it, or followed a doctrine that only appears to be genuine śruti.