The Conclusion of the Disciples’ Teachings

• Winding up the text: With the preceding verses, the direct teachings of both śaṅkarācārya and his immediate disciples have concluded. In this verse, another ācārya steps in to summarize the entire text by pointing out the specific context of how this philosophical teaching originally came about.

The Context of the Composition

• The deluded grammarian: The text recounts the original inspiration for the composition: mūḍhaḥ kaścana vaiyākaraṇaḥ ḍukṛṅkaraṇādhyayana dhurīṇaḥ āsīt. While moving through Kashi, śaṅkarācārya observed an elderly grammarian completely absorbed in memorizing the Paninian grammar rules (dhātu pāṭha).
• Mistaking the means for the end: The scholar was endlessly repeating the verbal root ḍukṛṅkaraṇe. The word adhyayanaṃ denotes his rote memorization, and dhurīṇaḥ indicates his complete dedication to this single task. The verse points out that while language is a necessary means for communication, treating it as the ultimate end of life makes a person a mūḍhaḥ (a deluded one).

The Awakening and the Transformation

• The intervention of the wise: Seeing the old man wasting his final years on mere grammar, the master and his disciples decided to intervene to inform him that the true purpose of life is self-knowledge. The phrase śrīmac chaṅkara bhagavac chiṣyaiḥ bodhita āsīt states that he was successfully awakened, educated, and admonished by the disciples of śaṅkarācārya.
• A change in direction: Fortunately, the teaching hit its mark. The grammarian recognized his error and śodhita karaṇaḥ abhavat—he became purified and completely free of his delusion. He immediately changed the trajectory of his life and dedicated his remaining days to serious spiritual sādhana.

The Universal Lesson: Better Late Than Never

• No age limit for spirituality: Through the story of this old grammarian, the ācārya imparts a powerful indirect advice to all seekers: spiritual sādhana can be initiated at any age.
• Overcoming regret: One should never feel regret or think, “I have come to this path only at the age of seventy or eighty.” Instead of lamenting the lost years, one should be grateful and console oneself with the thought that it is far better to start late than to never start at all.