युक्तियुक्तमुपादेयं वचनं बालकादपि । अन्यत्तृणमिव त्याज्यमप्युक्तं पद्मजन्मना ॥ ३ ॥
yuktiyuktamupādēyaṁ vacanaṁ bālakādapi | anyattṛṇamiva tyājyamapyuktaṁ padmajanmanā || 3 ||
Translation
Words joined to reasoning are to be accepted even from a child; anything else is to be left like straw, even if spoken by the lotus-born Brahmā.
Word by word
- yukti
- to reasoning
- yuktam
- joined
- upādēyaṁ
- are to be accepted
- vacanaṁ
- words
- bālakād
- from a child
- api
- even
- anyat
- anything else
- tṛṇam
- straw
- iva
- like
- tyājyam
- is to be left
- uktaṁ
- if spoken
- padmajanmanā
- by the lotus-born Brahmā
Meaning
The rule of the last verse put more sharply still. The test is not the speaker but the reasoning. Even Brahmā, the creator, is named only to make the point unmistakable: authority alone does not make a word convincing to one who is seeking.