Shloka 3
अध्याय ३३७ — ज्ञानमार्ग-वैविध्यप्रश्नः तथा व्यासस्य नारायणोद्भवकथा
Systems of Knowledge and Vyāsa’s Nārāyaṇa-Origin
राजन! बृहत, ब्रह्म और महत--ये तीनों शब्द एक अर्थके वाचक हैं। इन तीनों शब्दोंके गुण देवपुरोहितमें मौजूद थे; इसलिये वे विद्वान देवगुरु “बृहस्पति” कहलाते थे ।। तस्य शिष्यो बभूवाग्य्रो राजोपरिचरो वसु: । अधीततवांस्तदा शास्त्र सम्यक् चित्रशिखण्डिजम्
rājan! bṛhat, brahma ca mahat—ete trayaḥ śabdā ekārthavācakāḥ. eteṣāṃ trayāṇāṃ śabdānāṃ guṇā devapurohite vidyamānā āsan; tasmāt sa vidvān devaguruḥ “bṛhaspati” iti khyātaḥ. tasya śiṣyo babhūvāgryo rājoparicaro vasuḥ. adhītatavān tadā śāstraṃ samyak citraśikhaṇḍijam.
Bhishma said: “O king, the words bṛhat, brahman, and mahat all convey the same sense—‘the great.’ These very qualities were present in the divine priest; therefore that learned preceptor of the gods came to be known as ‘Bṛhaspati.’ His foremost disciple was King Vasu, famed as Uparicara. At that time Vasu had properly mastered the treatise known as Citraśikhaṇḍin.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage links language and virtue: multiple revered terms (bṛhat, brahma, mahat) converge on the idea of ‘greatness,’ and a teacher’s name (Bṛhaspati) is presented as grounded in the qualities he embodies—implying that true honorifics should reflect inner excellence and learning.
Bhishma explains why the gods’ preceptor is called Bṛhaspati and then introduces Bṛhaspati’s foremost disciple, King Uparicara Vasu, noting that Vasu had thoroughly studied a treatise associated with the name Citraśikhaṇḍin.