अध्याय ३५१ — उञ्छवृत्ति-व्रतसिद्धेः मानुषस्य परमगतिः
Sūrya–Nāga Dialogue on the Perfected Gleaner-Ascetic
स पूर्वमुक्त्वा वेदार्थान् भारतार्थाश्व तत्त्ववित् । नारायणादिदं जन्म व्याहर्तुमुपचक्रमे
sa pūrvam uktvā vedārthān bhāratārthāṁś ca tattvavit | nārāyaṇād idaṁ janma vyāhartum upacakrame ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Der Wahrheitskundige Vyāsa erklärte zunächst den Sinn der Veden und ebenso die Bedeutung des Mahābhārata. Danach begann er, den Bericht über seine eigene Geburt zu erzählen und sie auf Nārāyaṇa zurückzuführen.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse emphasizes interpretive authority and right transmission: one should first grasp the essential meanings of the Vedas and the Mahābhārata, and then understand personal and historical narratives as grounded in a higher divine source (Nārāyaṇa). It frames knowledge as moving from śāstra-meaning to lived lineage and origin, linking ethics (dharma) to revealed wisdom.
Vaiśampāyana reports a transition in the discourse: after the sage (the tattvavit) has already explained the meanings of the Vedas and the Mahābhārata, he now begins to recount the story of his own birth, presenting it as originating from Nārāyaṇa.