ācāryāt pādam ādatte pādaṁ śiṣyaḥ svamedhayā |
pādaṁ sabrahmacāribhyaḥ pādam kāla-krameṇa ca ||
(Āpastamba-dharma-sūtra)
“A student acquires one-fourth from the ācārya, one-fourth by his own intellect, one-fourth from fellow students, and one-fourth in the course of time.”
ācāryāt pādam ādatte pādaṁ śiṣyaḥ svamedhayā |
kālena pādam ādatte pādaṁ sabrahmacāribhiḥ ||
(Cited in a commentary to Mahābhārata: Udyoga-parva, 44.16)
“A student acquires one-fourth from the ācārya, one-fourth by by his own intellect, one-fourth in time, and one-fourth from fellow students.”
kālena pādaṁ labhate tathārthaṁ
tataś ca pādaṁ guru-yogataś ca |
utsāha-yogena ca pādam ṛcchec
chāstreṇa ca pādaṁ ca tato’bhiyāti ||
(Mahābhārata: Udyoga-parva, 44.16)
“A student acquires one-fourth in time, one-fourth by association with the guru, one-fourth by his own enthusiasm and endeavor, and one-fourth by discussion.”
adhīti-bodhācaraṇa-pracāraṇair daśāś catasraḥ … |
(Naiṣadha-carita: 1.4)
“The four stages [of learning śāstra are those] of study, understanding, practice, and teaching ….”
caturbhiś ca prakāraiḥ vidyopayuktā bhavati, āgama-kālena svādhyāya-kālena pravacana-kālena vyavahāra-kāleneti |
(Mahābhāṣya: 1.1.1)
“Knowledge is acquired in four ways: at the time of receiving [it from an ācārya], at the time of personally studying [it, i.e., reviewing it, reflecting on it, reciting it, etc.], at the time of speaking [i.e., teaching it to others], and at the time of applying [it, i.e., performing sacrifices, navigating challenges, etc.].”
ṛṣer bhagavato bhūtvā śiṣyo’dhītya bahūni ca |
setihāsa-purāṇāni dharma-śāstrāṇi sarvaśaḥ ||
adāntasyāvinītasya vṛthā paṇḍita-māninaḥ |
na guṇāya bhavanti sma naṭasyevājitātmanaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.78.25–26)
“He [i.e., Romaharṣaṇa] became a disciple of the illustrious ṛṣi [i.e., the ṛṣi who is an avatāra of Bhagavān himself, Vyāsadeva] and studied numerous dharma-śāstras along with the Itihāsas and Purāṇas in full, but these [studies], like those of an actor, do not lead to [the development of] virtue for one who is unregulated, immodest, of vain conceit that one is a paṇḍita, and of uncontrolled mind [and rather function only as a means of livelihood].”
ajarāmaravat prājño vidyām arthaṁ ca sādhayet |
gṛhīta iva keśeṣu mṛtyunā dharmam ācaret ||
(Hitopadeśa: Prāstāvikā, 3)
“The wise should pursue knowledge and wealth as though they are unaging and immortal, but they adhere to dharma as if their hair has been grabbed by death.”
janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam |
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 13.9)
“Repeated [alt., recurrent] deliberation [alt., reflection] upon the predicament of suffering in the form of birth, death, infirmity, and disease [is an integral aspect of true knowledge].”
āyuḥ karma ca vittaṁ ca vidyā nidhanam eva ca |
pañcaitāni hi sṛjyante garbhasthasyaiva dehinaḥ ||
(Cāṇakya-nīti: 4.1; cited in Hitopadeśa: 1.27)
“Lifespan, karma, wealth, learning, and death—these five are created for the bearer of the body [i.e.,the jīvātmā) while situated in the womb [i.e., these five are set out for a living being from the time of their birth].”
avaśendriya-cittānāṁ hasti-snānam iva kriyā |
durbhagābharaṇa-prāyo jñānaṁ bhāraḥ kriyāṁ vinā ||
(Hitopadeśa: Mitra-lābha, 18)
“The practice of those who are of uncontrolled senses and mind is like the bathing of an elephant, and without practice knowledge is for the most part a burden like an ornament on an unfortunate woman [i.e., a widow].”
