Shloka 27

नारद–शुक संवादः

Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga

Devanagari script

चतुर्विशांस्ततो5पृच्छत्‌ प्रश्नान्‌ वेदस्य पार्थिव

Transliteration

caturviṁśāṁs tato 'pṛcchat praśnān vedasya pārthiva, pṛthvīnātha! tatpaścāt ānvīkṣikī-vidyā-sambandhe pañcaviṁśaṁ praśnam upasthāpayan; te caturviṁśati-praśnāḥ—1. viśvā kim? 2. aviśvaṁ kim? 3. aśvā kim? 4. aśvaḥ kaḥ? 5. mitraḥ kaḥ? 6. varuṇaḥ kaḥ?

Translation

Yājñavalkya sprach: „O König, Herr der Erde! Danach stellte er vierundzwanzig Fragen über den Veda. Dann erhob er eine fünfundzwanzigste Frage über die Disziplin der rationalen Untersuchung (ānvīkṣikī). Jene vierundzwanzig vedischen Fragen beginnen so: ‚Was ist viśvā? Was ist aviśva? Was ist aśvā? Was ist aśva? Wer ist Mitra? Wer ist Varuṇa?‘“

Word by Word

• चतुर्विंशान्: twenty-four (items)
• चतुर्विंशान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्विंशत्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• ततः: then/from there
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• अपृच्छत्: asked
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रच्छ्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• प्रश्नान्: questions
• प्रश्नान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रश्न
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• वेदस्य: of the Veda
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पार्थिव: O king/earthly ruler
• पार्थिव: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पृथ्वीनाथ: O lord of the earth
• पृथ्वीनाथ: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथ्वी-नाथ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yājñavalkya
• pārthiva (the king)
• Mitra
• Varuṇa
• Veda
• ānvīkṣikī (discipline of inquiry)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage frames dharma-oriented learning as disciplined inquiry: Vedic terms and deities are not merely named but examined through precise questions, and this is complemented by ānvīkṣikī—critical reflection that tests meanings and principles.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yājñavalkya reports that a king (addressed as ‘lord of the earth’) proceeds to question him: first with twenty-four definitional questions about Vedic concepts, and then with a twenty-fifth question about the science of rational inquiry; the text begins listing the Vedic questions (viśvā/aviśva, aśvā/aśva, Mitra, Varuṇa, etc.).