Shloka 5
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Inquiry and Sañjaya’s Etymologies of Kṛṣṇa’s Names
Puruṣottama-nāma-nirvacana
संजय उवाच मायां न सेवे भद्रें ते न वृथा धर्ममाचरे । शुद्धभावं गतो भक््त्या शास्त्राद् वेझि जनार्दनम्
sañjaya uvāca māyāṃ na seve bhadraṃ te na vṛthā dharmam ācare | śuddhabhāvaṃ gato bhaktyā śāstrād vetsi janārdanam ||
Sañjaya sprach: «Wohlergehen sei dir, o König. Ich bediene mich keiner Täuschung und übe die Religion nicht vergeblich als bloßen Schein. Durch Hingabe ist mein Inneres geläutert; darum kenne ich, gestützt auf die Autorität der Śāstras, Janārdana (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) wahrhaft so, wie Er ist.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
True religious life is marked by sincerity: avoiding deceit (māyā) and rejecting hollow, performative dharma. Devotion (bhakti) purifies the inner disposition, enabling genuine understanding of Kṛṣṇa (Janārdana) grounded in śāstra rather than in pretense.
Sanjaya, speaking to the king, asserts his moral credibility: he does not employ trickery and does not follow dharma as hypocrisy. He explains that through devotion his mind has become pure, and thus he is able—by scriptural testimony—to know and speak rightly about Janārdana (Śrī Kṛṣṇa).