Shloka 8
अध्याय ३५१ — उञ्छवृत्ति-व्रतसिद्धेः मानुषस्य परमगतिः
Sūrya–Nāga Dialogue on the Perfected Gleaner-Ascetic
किमतः: पूर्वजं जन्म व्यासस्यामिततेजस: । कथयस्वोत्तममते जन्म नारायणोद्धवम्,श्रेष्ठ बुद्धिवाले मुनीश्वर! क्या अमिततेजस्वी व्यासजीका इससे पहले भी कोई जन्म हुआ था? नारायणसे व्यासजीका जन्म कब और कैसे हुआ? यह बतानेकी कृपा करें
kim ataḥ pūrvajaṁ janma vyāsasyāmitatejasaḥ | kathayasvottamamate janma nārāyaṇoddhavam, śreṣṭha buddhivāle munīśvara |
Janamejaya said: “Did the mighty-splendored Vyāsa have an earlier birth before this one? O best of minds, please tell me—when and in what manner did Vyāsa’s birth arise from Nārāyaṇa? O foremost sage, endowed with excellent intellect, kindly explain.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dhārmic inquiry: a king seeks the sacred genealogy and divine source of a revered sage, implying that understanding the origins of wisdom-teachers (ṛṣis) supports ethical orientation and faith in the transmission of dharma.
Janamejaya questions the narrator-sage about Vyāsa’s earlier existence and requests a detailed account of how and when Vyāsa’s birth is said to have arisen from Nārāyaṇa, setting up a theological and genealogical explanation within Śānti Parva.