Shloka 2

Nāgendra–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Praśna-vidhi and Dharmic Approach on the Gomatī Riverbank

Devanagari script

महावराहसृष्टा च पिण्डोत्पत्ति: पुरातनी । प्रवृत्ती च निवृत्ती च यो यथा परिकल्पित:

Transliteration

mahāvarāhasṛṣṭā ca piṇḍotpattiḥ purātanī | pravṛttī ca nivṛttī ca yo yathā parikalpitaḥ ||

Translation

قال شَوْنَكَة: يُقال إن الأصلَ القديمَ للكائناتِ المتجسِّدة قد أُخرج إلى الوجود على يد «الخنزيرِ البريّ العظيم» (مهاڤاراه)، وإن الطريقين—طريقَ الانخراط في الفعل (برافِرِتّي) وطريقَ الانصراف عن الفعل (نِفِرِتّي)—قد قُضِيَ بهما لكلِّ امرئٍ بحسب طبيعته ومقامه.

Word by Word

महावराहसृष्टाcreated by the great boar (Varāha)

चand

पिण्डोत्पत्तिःthe origin/production of the body (embryonic mass)

पुरातनीancient, primeval

प्रवृत्तिःengagement (in action/worldly activity)

चand

निवृत्तिःwithdrawal (cessation/renunciation)

चand

यःwho/which

यथाas, in whatever manner

परिकल्पितःarranged/ordained, prescribed

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

श

शौनक (Śaunaka)

म

महावराह (Mahāvarāha / Varāha)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames dharma as having two legitimate orientations—pravṛtti (engaged duty and action) and nivṛtti (withdrawal and renunciation)—and suggests that these are not one-size-fits-all but are prescribed according to a person’s nature and proper role.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka introduces a doctrinal point within Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse: he invokes the primeval, divinely grounded origin of embodied existence (linked to the Great Boar) and connects it to the ordered establishment of life-paths, setting up discussion on how action and renunciation are to be understood and practiced.