Shloka 10
Aṣṭāvakra–Bandi Vāda at Janaka’s Assembly
Numerical Cosmology and Restitution
द्वारपाल उवाच वृद्धेभ्य एवेह मतिं सम बाला गृह्लन्ति कालेन भवन्ति वृद्धा: | न हि ज्ञानमल्पकालेन शक््यं कस्माद् बाल: स्थविर इव प्रभाषसे,द्वारपालने कहा--बालक बड़े-बूढ़ोंसे ही ज्ञान प्राप्त करते हैं और समयानुसार वे भी वृद्ध होते हैं। थोड़े समयमें ज्ञानकी प्राप्ति असम्भव है, अतः तुम बालक होकर भी क्यों वृद्धकी-सी बातें करते हो?
dvārapāla uvāca vṛddhebhya eveha matiṁ sama bālā gṛhlanti kālena bhavanti vṛddhāḥ | na hi jñānam alpākālena śakyaṁ kasmād bālaḥ sthavira iva prabhāṣase ||
O porteiro disse: “Aqui, as crianças obtêm entendimento apenas dos anciãos, e com o tempo elas mesmas envelhecem. O conhecimento não pode ser adquirido em pouco tempo. Então por que tu, sendo criança, falas como um velho?”
द्वारपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wisdom is ordinarily acquired through time, guidance, and lived experience; therefore youthful speech that sounds like mature counsel is treated as unusual and is questioned.
A gatekeeper addresses a young speaker, remarking that children typically learn understanding from elders and that knowledge is not quickly attained; he asks why the child speaks with the gravity and insight of an old man.