Shloka 22
Nāga–Nāgabhāryā Saṃvāda: Varṇa-Dharma, Gṛhastha-Discipline, and Mokṣa-Self-Inquiry
Mahābhārata 12.347
नास्ति मत्तोडधिक: ककश्षित् को वान्यो<र्च्यो मया स्वयम् । को वा मम पिता लोके अहमेव पितामह:,मुझसे श्रेष्ठ कोई नहीं है; फिर दूसरा कौन है जिसका स्वयं मैं पूजन करूँ? संसारमें मेरा पिता कौन है? सबका दादा-बाबा तो मैं ही हूँ
nāsti matto ’dhikaḥ kaścit ko vānyo ’rcyo mayā svayam | ko vā mama pitā loke aham eva pitāmahaḥ ||
Nārada sprach: „Niemand ist mir überlegen. Wer sonst wäre also würdig, von mir selbst verehrt zu werden? Und wer in dieser Welt könnte mein Vater sein? Ich allein bin der Urgroßvater, der Ahnvater.“
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the danger of unchecked ego: claiming unsurpassed greatness and self-sufficiency erodes humility and dharmic conduct. It functions as a caution that self-worship and denial of any higher authority lead to ethical blindness.
Nārada speaks in a tone of absolute self-exaltation—asserting no one is above him, that he has no one to worship, and that he is the ultimate ancestor. In context, such a declaration typically serves to expose or critique arrogance as part of a broader moral instruction in Śānti Parva.