Shloka 16
Ātma-saṃyama-dharma: One-pointedness of Mind and Senses (शुक–व्यास संवादः)
आयुषस्तु चतुर्भागं ब्रह्मचार्यनसूयक: । गुरौ वा गुरुपुत्रे वा वसेद् धर्मार्थकोविद:
āyuṣas tu caturbhāgaṃ brahmacāry anasūyakaḥ | gurau vā guruputre vā vased dharmārthakovidaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vyāsa: “Ang isang binatang dvija, na tumutupad sa brahmacarya at hindi mapanlait sa kapwa, ay dapat manirahan sa piling ng kaniyang guro—o ng anak ng guro—sa loob ng ikaapat na bahagi ng kaniyang buhay. Sa paninirahang iyon na may disiplina at paglilingkod, ang brahmacārin ay nagiging bihasa sa pag-unawa sa dharma at artha.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
A brahmacārin should spend a substantial formative period (one quarter of life) living in disciplined service to the guru (or the guru’s son), cultivating humility and refraining from fault-finding; this character-formation leads to competence in dharma (right conduct) and artha (practical welfare).
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa lays down a rule of conduct for the student stage of life: residence with the teacher, service, and a non-censorious attitude are presented as the means by which a student becomes truly learned in ethical and practical aims.