Shloka 286
Nāga-āyatana-darśana-pratīkṣā — The Brāhmaṇa’s Request and Waiting on the Gomatī
तदेतन्मे यथातत्त्वं सर्वमाख्यातुमहसि । श्वेतद्वीपसे लौटे हुए उन नारदजीसे महात्मा नर-नारायण ऋषियोंने क्या बात की थी? ये सब बातें आप यथार्थरूपसे बतानेकी कृपा करें
tad etan me yathātattvaṃ sarvam ākhyātum arhasi | śvetadvīpāt nivṛttena nāradena saha mahātmabhyāṃ nara-nārāyaṇābhyāṃ ṛṣibhyāṃ kā vārtā kṛtā | etat sarvaṃ yathārtha-rūpeṇa vaktum anugrahaṃ kuru ||
Janamejaya said: “Please relate to me, exactly as it truly happened, the whole account. When Nārada returned from Śvetadvīpa, what conversation did the great sages Nara and Nārāyaṇa have with him? Kindly tell me all of this in a faithful and accurate manner.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharmic inquiry: a listener should seek an account “as it truly is” (yathātattvam), valuing accuracy, faithful transmission, and humility before sacred knowledge.
King Janamejaya asks the narrator to recount, in full and truthfully, what Nārada reported or discussed after returning from Śvetadvīpa, specifically the conversation between Nārada and the great sages Nara and Nārāyaṇa.