Shloka 28

Nāga-āyatana-darśana-pratīkṣā — The Brāhmaṇa’s Request and Waiting on the Gomatī

Devanagari script

श्वेतद्वीपादुपावृत्ते तस्मिन्‌ वा सुमहात्मनि । किमब्रूतां महात्मानौ नरनारायणावृषी

Transliteration

śvetadvīpādupāvṛtte tasmin vā sumahātmani | kim abrūtāṃ mahātmānau naranārāyaṇāv ṛṣī ||

Translation

Janamejaya asked: “When that supremely great-souled one returned from Śvetadvīpa, what did the two great sages, Nara and Nārāyaṇa, say to him?”

Word by Word

• श्वेतद्वीपात्: from Śvetadvīpa
• श्वेतद्वीपात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वेतद्वीप
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• उपावृत्ते: having returned
• उपावृत्ते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपावृत्त
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• तस्मिन्: in him/when he
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वा: or/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• सुमहात्मनि: in that very great-souled one
• सुमहात्मनि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुमहात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अब्रूताम्: they two said/spoke
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), Third, Dual

• महात्मानौ: the two great-souled ones
• महात्मानौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• नरनारायणौ: Nara and Nārāyaṇa
• नरनारायणौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरनारायण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• ऋषी: the two sages
• ऋषी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• Śvetadvīpa
• Nara
• Nārāyaṇa
• the returned great-souled person (unnamed in this verse)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models dharmic inquiry: a king-disciple (Janamejaya) seeks the precise words of realized sages (Nara–Nārāyaṇa) after a sacred encounter (Śvetadvīpa), implying that ethical and spiritual clarity is grounded in authoritative testimony and careful questioning.

What is happening in the narrative?

Janamejaya asks the narrator to continue the account: after a great-souled figure returns from Śvetadvīpa, he wants to know what the two sages Nara and Nārāyaṇa said to him—setting up the next portion of instruction or revelation.