Shloka 5
Āstīka’s Commission and Approach to Janamejaya’s Sarpa-satra (आस्तीक-प्रेषणं यज्ञप्रवेशोपक्रमश्च)
सौतिर्वाच मन्त्रिणो5थाब्रुवन् वाक्यं पृष्टास्तेन महात्मना । सर्वे धर्मविद: प्राज्ञा राजानं जनमेजयम्,उग्रश्रवाजी कहते हैं--राजाके सब मन्त्री धर्मज्ञ और बुद्धिमान् थे। उन महात्मा राजा जनमेजयके इस प्रकार पूछनेपर वे सभी उनसे यों बोले
Sautir uvāca: mantriṇo ’thābruvan vākyaṃ pṛṣṭās tena mahātmanā | sarve dharmavidaḥ prājñā rājānaṃ Janamejayam ||
Ugraśravas (Sauti) sprach: Als jener großgesinnte König sie befragte, wandten sich die Minister — allesamt weise und in Dharma bewandert — mit ihrer Antwort an König Janamejaya.
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ideal of governance: a king’s decisions should be informed by counsellors who are both intelligent and grounded in dharma, implying that political action must be guided by ethical and lawful discernment.
The narrator Sauti reports that, after King Janamejaya questions his ministers, they respond together; the verse functions as a transition into their counsel and frames them as qualified advisers.