Shloka 15
अध्याय ३५१ — उञ्छवृत्ति-व्रतसिद्धेः मानुषस्य परमगतिः
Sūrya–Nāga Dialogue on the Perfected Gleaner-Ascetic
स पूर्वमुक्त्वा वेदार्थान् भारतार्थाश्व तत्त्ववित् । नारायणादिदं जन्म व्याहर्तुमुपचक्रमे,तत्त्वज्ञानी व्यासजीने पहले हमें वेदों और महाभारतका अर्थ बताया। उसके बाद भगवान् नारायणसे अपने जन्मका वृत्तान्त इस प्रकार बताना आरम्भ किया--
sa pūrvam uktvā vedārthān bhāratārthāṁś ca tattvavit | nārāyaṇād idaṁ janma vyāhartum upacakrame ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Having first explained the purport of the Vedas and also the meaning of the Mahābhārata, the knower of truth then began to relate the account of his own birth, tracing it back to Nārāyaṇa.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes interpretive authority and right transmission: one should first grasp the essential meanings of the Vedas and the Mahābhārata, and then understand personal and historical narratives as grounded in a higher divine source (Nārāyaṇa). It frames knowledge as moving from śāstra-meaning to lived lineage and origin, linking ethics (dharma) to revealed wisdom.
Vaiśampāyana reports a transition in the discourse: after the sage (the tattvavit) has already explained the meanings of the Vedas and the Mahābhārata, he now begins to recount the story of his own birth, presenting it as originating from Nārāyaṇa.