Shloka 54
मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः
Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature
महानद्या हि पारज्ञस्तप्यते न तदन्यथा । न तु तप्यति तत्त्वज्ञ: फले ज्ञाते तरत्युत
mahānadyā hi pārajñas tapyate na tad anyathā | na tu tapyati tattvajñaḥ phale jñāte taraty uta ||
毗湿摩说：“人若仅知大河之渡口，并不因此而圆满；未曾乘舟或以他法真正抵达彼岸之前，仍为忧惧所煎。然知真实者，以知识本身渡越生死之海；他不为苦恼所灼，因为那知识自身即是桥梁。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mere conceptual information is not the same as attainment: knowing a route does not end anxiety until one actually crosses. In contrast, true knowledge (tattva-jñāna)—realization of reality—functions as the very means of liberation and carries one beyond saṃsāra, removing inner distress.
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he uses a practical simile: a person who only knows the ford of a vast river still suffers until he reaches the opposite bank. He then applies the image to spiritual life, asserting that the realized knower crosses the ‘ocean of the world’ through knowledge itself.