Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 180
सहधर्म-प्रश्नः तथा अष्टावक्रोपाख्यान-प्रस्तावः
Inquiry on Sahadharma and the Opening of the Aṣṭāvakra Narrative
मार्कण्डेयान्मया प्राप्तो नियमेन जनार्दन । तवाप्यहममित्रघ्न स्तवं दद्यां हविश्रुतम्
Mārkaṇḍeyān mayā prāpto niyamena Janārdana | tavāpy aham amitraghna stavaṃ dadyāṃ haviśrutam ||
Vāyu said: “O Janārdana, by disciplined observance I obtained it from Mārkaṇḍeya. And to you as well, O slayer of foes, I would grant this hymn—renowned and celebrated like an oblation offered in sacrifice.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacred praise and spiritual knowledge are to be received and transmitted through disciplined practice (niyama) and proper lineage; the hymn is treated as ritually potent and worthy, comparable in repute to a sacrificial offering.
Vāyu states that he obtained a celebrated hymn from the sage Mārkaṇḍeya through disciplined observance, and he now offers to bestow that same hymn upon the addressed hero, invoking Janārdana and emphasizing the hymn’s ritual and devotional prestige.