Shloka 20

अध्याय ३३७ — ज्ञानमार्ग-वैविध्यप्रश्नः तथा व्यासस्य नारायणोद्भवकथा

Systems of Knowledge and Vyāsa’s Nārāyaṇa-Origin

Devanagari script

एकततद्वितत्रिताश्नोचुस्ततश्चित्रशिखण्डिन:

Transliteration

Ekatad-dvita-tritāś coccus tataś citraśikhaṇḍinaḥ; tadanantaraṃ ekata-dvita-tritāś ca citraśikhaṇḍī-nāmāna ṛṣayo 'bruvan— “Bṛhaspate! vayaṃ brahmaṇaḥ mānasaputrāḥ ucyāmahe. Ekadā svakalyāṇecchayā sarve vayam uttaradiśaṃ yātrāṃ kṛtavantaḥ …”

Translation

Bhishma sprach: Da wandten sich die Weisen namens Ekata, Dvita, Trita und Chitrashikhandin an ihn: „O Brihaspati, man kennt uns als die geistgeborenen Söhne Brahmās. Einst, im Verlangen nach unserem eigenen geistigen Heil, brachen wir alle zu einer Reise in die nördliche Himmelsrichtung auf …“

Word by Word

• एकः: one (sage named Eka)
• एकः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तत्: that (statement/thing)
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• द्वितः: Dvita (a sage)
• द्वितः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• त्रितः: Trita (a sage)
• त्रितः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• आश्नोचुः: they attained / reached
• Type: Verb
• Root: अश् (आश्नुते)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• ततः: then; thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• चित्रशिखण्डिनः: the sages named Citrashikhaṇḍin (having variegated crests/plumes)
• चित्रशिखण्डिनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्रशिखण्डिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ततः: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एकः: Eka (one, the sage)
• एकः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• द्वितः: Dvita
• द्वितः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• त्रितः: Trita
• त्रितः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Brihaspati
• Brahma
• Ekata
• Dvita
• Trita
• Chitrashikhandin
• Uttara-disha (the northern direction)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage foregrounds the authority and responsibility of sages: those who claim a lofty spiritual lineage (as Brahmā’s mind-born sons) must pursue genuine inner welfare (kalyāṇa) through disciplined seeking. It sets an ethical tone that true status is validated by sincere spiritual striving.

What is happening in the narrative?

Within Bhishma’s discourse, a group of sages—Ekata, Dvita, Trita, and Chitrashikhandin—begin addressing Brihaspati. They introduce themselves as Brahmā’s mind-born sons and start recounting an earlier episode in which they traveled north in search of spiritual good, leading into the next part of the story.