Rāma’s Inquiry into the Hidden Identity of the Radiant Stranger
Dialogue Frame
इति श्रीब्रह्माण्डे महापुराणे वायुप्रोक्ते मध्यभागे तृतीय उपोद्धातपादे त्रयोविंशतितमो ऽध्यायः वसिष्ठ उवाच इत्युक्तस्तेन भूपाल रामो मतिमतां वरः / निरूप्य मनसा भूयस्तमुवाचाभिविस्मितम्
iti śrībrahmāṇḍe mahāpurāṇe vāyuprokte madhyabhāge tṛtīya upoddhātapāde trayoviṃśatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ vasiṣṭha uvāca ityuktastena bhūpāla rāmo matimatāṃ varaḥ / nirūpya manasā bhūyastamuvācābhivismitam
Thus, in the Śrī Brahmāṇḍa Mahāpurāṇa, spoken by Vāyu, in the middle section, in the third Upoddhāta-pāda, is the twenty-third chapter. Vasiṣṭha said: when he had spoken thus, King Rāma—foremost among the wise—pondered again in his mind and, astonished, addressed him.