Shloka 20

Devanagari script

प्रवक्तृणि द्वयान्याहुरात्मज्ञानीतराणि च । आत्मज्ञानि विशिष्टानि जन्माजन्मोपधारणात्‌,प्रवक्ता भी दो प्रकारके कहे गये हैं--आत्मज्ञ और अनात्मज्ञ। इनमें आत्मज्ञ पुरुष ही श्रेष्ठ हैं; क्योंकि वे जन्म और मृत्युके तत्त्वको समझते हैं

Transliteration

pravaktṝṇi dvayāny āhur ātmajñānītarāṇi ca | ātmajñāni viśiṣṭāni janmājanmopadhāraṇāt ||

Translation

ویاس نے کہا—معلم بھی دو قسم کے کہے گئے ہیں: آتما کو جاننے والے اور آتما سے ناواقف۔ ان میں آتما-جاننے والے برتر ہیں، کیونکہ وہ جنم و مرگ اور بار بار جنم لینے کے اصول کو سمجھتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

प्रवक्तॄणिspeakers/expounders

द्वयानिtwo kinds (pairs)

आहुःthey say/declare

आत्मज्ञknowers of the Self

इतराणिthe others

चand

आत्मज्ञानिself-knowing (ones)

विशिष्टानिsuperior/distinguished

जन्मbirth

अजन्मnon-birth (i.e., death/cessation of birth)

उपधारणात्from understanding/retaining (the doctrine)

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True authority in teaching is grounded in ātma-jñāna (knowledge of the Self). Such a teacher is ‘superior’ because they understand the deeper law behind birth, rebirth, and death, and can therefore guide others toward liberation-oriented insight rather than merely worldly instruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa classifies instructors into two categories—Self-knowers and non-Self-knowers—and establishes a hierarchy of spiritual competence, emphasizing that insight into the cycle of birth (and its transcendence) is the mark of the highest teacher.