Shloka 45

अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्

Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas

Devanagari script

इति गुह्यसमुद्देशस्तव नारद कीर्तित: । भक्‍त्या प्रेम्णा च विप्रर्षे अस्मद्धक्त्या च ते श्रुतः

Transliteration

iti guhyasamuddeśas tava nārada kīrtitaḥ | bhaktyā premṇā ca viprarṣe asmaddhaktyā ca te śrutaḥ ||

Translation

Nārada said: “Thus I have declared to you this confidential outline of the teaching, O Nārada, best of sages. Because you are endowed with devotion and loving faith toward the Lord, and because you also bear devotion toward us, you have been granted the auspicious opportunity to hear this secret matter.”

Word by Word

• {'iti': 'thus

• in this manner (concluding particle)', 'guhya': 'secret

• esoteric', 'samuddeśaḥ': 'summary statement

• concise exposition', 'tava': 'to you

• your', 'nārad(a)': 'Nārada (name of the sage)', 'kīrtitaḥ': 'declared

• recounted', 'bhaktyā': 'with devotion (here: devotion toward the speaker/teachers)', 'premṇā': 'with love

• affectionate devotion', 'ca': 'and', 'viprarṣe': 'O best of seers among the brāhmaṇas

• O brahmarṣi (vocative)', 'asmat': 'toward us

• of us', 'te': 'by you

• for you', 'śrutaḥ': 'heard

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Confidential spiritual instruction is not merely information; it is entrusted to a qualified listener. Devotion (bhakti) and loving faith (prema), along with reverence toward the teachers, are presented as the ethical basis for receiving and preserving secret doctrine.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker (introduced as “Nārada said”) concludes or summarizes a hidden teaching, stating that it has been disclosed because the listener possesses devotion and love toward the Lord and maintains a devotional attitude toward the speaker’s lineage/teachers, making the listener fit to hear the secret.