यथा कथिततवान ब्रह्मन् प्रमति: पूर्वजस्तव । पुत्राय रुरवे प्रीत: पृच्छते भार्गवोत्तम,ब्रह्मन! भूगुवंशशिरोमणे! आपके पूर्वज प्रमतिने अपने पुत्र रुकुके पूछनेपर जिस प्रकार आस्तीकोपाख्यान कहा था और जिसे मैंने भी सुना था, उसी प्रकार विद्वान् महात्मा आस्तीकके मंगलमय चरित्रका मैंने प्रारम्भसे ही वर्णन किया है
yathā kathitavān brahman pramatiḥ pūrvajas tava | putrāya rurave prītaḥ pṛcchate bhārgavottama ||
O Brahmin, just as your ancestor Pramati—pleased at his son Ruru’s inquiry—recounted this account, so too do I relate it in the same manner, O best of the Bhṛgus. The point is fidelity to an authentic lineage of teaching: a sacred narrative is to be transmitted accurately, with goodwill, and in response to sincere questioning.
आस्तीक उवाच
Sacred history should be transmitted faithfully through a trustworthy lineage, and genuine learning arises when a sincere question is met with a pleased, careful narration—linking ethical authority to accurate remembrance and responsible speech.
Āstīka addresses a Brahmin and frames his own telling as consistent with an earlier telling by the ancestor-sage Pramati to his son Ruru, emphasizing that the present account follows the established tradition of the story’s transmission.