Shloka 5
अध्याय ३५१ — उञ्छवृत्ति-व्रतसिद्धेः मानुषस्य परमगतिः
Sūrya–Nāga Dialogue on the Perfected Gleaner-Ascetic
तमादिकालेषु महाविभूति- नरियणो ब्रह्ममहानिधानम् | ससर्ज पुत्रार्थमुदारतेजा व्यासं महात्मानमजं पुराणम्,प्राचीनकालमें उदार तेजस्वी, महान् वैभवसम्पन्न भगवान् नारायणने वैदिक ज्ञानकी महानिधिरूप महात्मा अजन्मा और पुराणपुरुष व्यासजीको अपने पुत्ररूपसे उत्पन्न किया था
tam ādikāleṣu mahāvibhūti-nārāyaṇo brahma-mahānidhānam | sasarja putrārtham udāratejā vyāsaṃ mahātmānam ajaṃ purāṇam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: In the earliest ages, the glorious Lord Nārāyaṇa—himself the great treasury of Vedic knowledge—brought forth, for the sake of a son, the noble-splendored Vyāsa: the great-souled one, unborn and primeval.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse establishes the sacred legitimacy of dharma-instruction by presenting Vyāsa—the transmitter/organizer of Vedic and epic wisdom—as a divinely originated figure. Ethical teaching is thus framed as rooted in primordial, authoritative revelation rather than mere human opinion.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates a cosmogonic background: in ancient times Lord Nārāyaṇa, described as a vast repository of Vedic knowledge, brings forth Vyāsa ‘for the sake of a son.’ The focus is on Vyāsa’s exalted, primeval status and his connection to divine purpose.