Shloka 16
Utkramaṇa-sthāna and Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇa: Yājñavalkya’s Instruction on Departure Pathways and Mortality Signs
ऐसा पुरुष पूछनेपर तत्वज्ञानपूर्वक ग्रन्थके अर्थकों जैसा समझता है, वैसा दूसरोंको भी बता सकता है ।।
na yaḥ saṃsatsu kathayed granthārthaṃ sthūlabuddhimān | sa kathaṃ mandavijñāno granthaṃ vakṣyati nirṇayāt ||
Wika ni Vasiṣṭha: “Tanging yaong nakaunawa sa kahulugan ng kasulatan sa pamamagitan ng kaalamang tātva ang makapagsasabi nang wasto sa iba kapag tinanong. Ngunit ang taong mabigat ang isip at kapos ang unawa, na hindi man maipaliwanag sa kapulungan ng mga pantas ang kahulugan ng tekstong śāstra—paano niya, sa kakarampot na pagkaunawa, maipapahayag nang may tiyak na pasya ang tātparya, ang pinakahuling diwa, ng tekstong iyon?”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Competent teaching requires true understanding: if someone cannot explain a text’s meaning among the learned, they cannot credibly claim to present its definitive purport. Authority in exposition rests on discernment and verified comprehension, not mere speech.
Vasiṣṭha is instructing his listener about the standards for interpreting and teaching śāstra. He contrasts genuine, knowledge-grounded exposition with shallow, uncertain talk, emphasizing that decisive interpretation (nirṇaya) belongs to the truly discerning.