Shloka 2
Agni’s Withdrawal to the Forest and Identification with Āṅgirasa (अग्न्याङ्गिरस-इतिहासः)
साड्रोपनिषदो वेदानधीते द्विजसत्तम: । स वक्षमूले कम्मिंश्चिद् वेदानुच्चारयन् स्थित:,द्विजश्रेष्ठ कौशिकने सम्पूर्ण अंगोंसहित वेदों और उपनिषदोंका अध्ययन किया था। एक दिनकी बात है, वह किसी वृक्षके नीचे बैठकर वेदपाठ कर रहा था
ṣaḍ-upaniṣado vedān adhīte dvija-sattamaḥ | sa vṛkṣa-mūle kaṃmiṃścid vedān uccārayan sthitaḥ |
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “That best of twice-born men had mastered the Vedas together with the six Upaniṣads. Once, seated beneath the root of a tree, he remained there reciting the Vedas.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical ideal: excellence is grounded in disciplined learning and continual practice of sacred knowledge—studying the Vedas and Upaniṣads and maintaining steady, reverent recitation.
Mārkaṇḍeya describes an exemplary Brahmin who has completed Vedic and Upaniṣadic study; on a particular occasion he sits beneath a tree and recites the Vedas, setting the scene for the ensuing episode.