Shloka 29

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

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच नमो भगवते तस्मै व्यासायामिततेजसे

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: namo bhagavate tasmai vyāsāyāmitatejase.

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Salutations to that Blessed Lord—Vyāsa—whose splendor is immeasurable.” With this reverent invocation, the narrator hallows the discourse to come as sacred and authoritative, grounding the teaching in devotion and gratitude toward the sage who preserves dharma through scripture.

Word by Word

• वैशम्पायनः: Vaiśampāyana
• वैशम्पायनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैशम्पायन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha-bhuta), Third, Singular

• नमः: salutation; homage
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस्

• भगवते: to the Blessed Lord
• भगवते: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• व्यासाय: to Vyāsa
• व्यासाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यास
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• अमिततेजसे: to (him) of immeasurable splendor
• अमिततेजसे: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमिततेजस्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Vyāsa (Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models dhārmic humility: before transmitting instruction, the speaker offers homage to Vyāsa, affirming that wisdom is received through a lineage and should be approached with reverence and gratitude.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, begins or resumes a section by invoking Vyāsa with a formal salutation, signaling a transition into an important teaching and establishing the sanctity and credibility of what follows.