Shloka 2
सुवर्णष्ठीविनोपाख्यानम्
The Account of Suvarṇaṣṭhīvin
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! तदनन्तर पाण्डुपुत्र राजा युधिष्ठिरने नारदजीसे कहा--'भगवन्! मैं सुवर्णष्ठीवीके जन्मका वृत्तान्त सुनना चाहता हूँ ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca | janamejaya! tadanantaraṃ pāṇḍuputro rājā yudhiṣṭhiro nāradam uvāca— “bhagavan! ahaṃ suvarṇaṣṭhīvināṃ janma-vṛttāntaṃ śrotum icchāmi।” evam uktaḥ sa munir dharmarājena nāradaḥ ācaṣṭe yathā-vṛttaṃ suvarṇaṣṭhīvinaṃ prati |
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, thereafter King Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Pāṇḍu, addressed Nārada: ‘Revered sir, I wish to hear the account of the birth of Suvarṇaṣṭhīvin.’ Thus requested by Dharmarāja, the sage Nārada began to relate, in due order and as it truly occurred, the narrative concerning Suvarṇaṣṭhīvin.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dharmic inquiry: a righteous king seeks instruction through attentive listening (śravaṇa) from a trustworthy sage, and the sage responds by narrating events “as they truly occurred” (yathā-vṛttam), emphasizing truthful transmission as an ethical duty.
Vaiśampāyana reports that Yudhiṣṭhira requests Nārada to tell the birth-account of Suvarṇaṣṭhīvin; Nārada, prompted by Dharmarāja, begins the narration in proper order.