Shloka 26
Nāga-āyatana-darśana-pratīkṣā — The Brāhmaṇa’s Request and Waiting on the Gomatī
श्वेतद्वीपान्निवृत्तश्न नारद: परमेछिज:,ब्रह्मपुत्र नारदजी श्वेतद्वीपसे लौटनेपर जब बदरिकाश्रममें पहुँचकर उन दोनों ऋषियोंसे मिले, तब वहाँ उन्होंने कितने समयतक निवास किया? और वहाँ उनसे किन-किन प्रश्नोंको पूछा?
Janamejaya uvāca: Śvetadvīpān nivṛttaś ca Nāradaḥ parameṣṭhi-jaḥ; Brahmaputra Nārada-jī Śvetadvīpa se lauṭne para jab Badarikāśrama meṃ pahuṃcakara un donoṃ ṛṣiyoṃ se mile, taba vahāṃ unhoṃne kitane samaya taka nivāsa kiyā? Aura vahāṃ unase kina-kina praśnoṃ ko pūchā?
Janamejaya said: “When Nārada—born of Brahmā—returned from Śvetadvīpa and, on reaching Badarikāśrama, met those two sages, how long did he stay there? And what questions did he put to them?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dhārmic learning through disciplined inquiry: a king seeks precise details about a sage’s conduct—where he went, whom he met, how long he stayed, and what he asked—implying that spiritual knowledge is transmitted through respectful questioning and attentive listening in sacred settings.
Janamejaya asks the narrator to continue the account of Nārada: after visiting Śvetadvīpa, Nārada returns and reaches Badarikāśrama, where he meets two sages. Janamejaya wants to know the duration of Nārada’s stay there and the specific questions he posed to those sages.