Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c9.38

c9.38

"He who is established (sthira) and has drunk in supreme knowledge (pītaṁ = pītārthaṁ) is counted as indispensable in the assemblies of the learned seeking such knowledge [sakhye = vidushāṁ saṁsadi, the assembly of those associated with knowledge (Sāyaṇa)]. But he [who merely recites the Word without a knowledge of Its hidden meaning (kevalapāṭhakaḥ)] wanders about with a barren cow (adhenvā), not yielding the milk of desires [nāsmai kāmān dugdhe vāgdohyān (Yāska)], with the mere symbol (māyayā) of speech [vākpratirūpayā (Yāska)], having only grasped its sound (śuśruvān) without its sense, like the tree not bearing any fruit or flower (Vāchaṁ ... aphalāmapushpāṁ) [ib. 5]. Sāyaṇa (in his Introduction to Rigveda Commentary) takes the *pushpa* (flower) of this passage to mean knowledge of *Dharma* as expounded in the *pūrva-kāṇḍa* of Rigveda and *phalam* (fruit) as knowledge of *Parabrahma* expounded in its *uttara-kāṇḍa*, and further explains that, as fruit brings us satisfaction, knowledge of Brahma fulfils all our desires. He also explains the other simile to mean that the *Veda* or *Vāk*, as a cow, does not yield its milk of Dharma and Brahma-jñāna, Religion and Supreme Knowledge, to one who is given only to recitation of its texts (pāṭhamātraparaṁ prati).