Shloka 18
ऋभु–निदाघ-संवादः—अद्वैत-उपदेशः, समता, वासुदेव-स्वरूप-एकत्वम्
क्वनिवासो भवान् विप्र क्व च गन्तुं समुद्यतः आगम्यते च भवता यतस् तच् च द्विजोच्यताम्
kvanivāso bhavān vipra kva ca gantuṃ samudyataḥ āgamyate ca bhavatā yatas tac ca dvijocyatām
O Brahmin, where is your dwelling, and to what place are you now setting out? And from where have you come to us? Tell me this also, O twice-born.
A householder/kingly interlocutor addressing a visiting Brahmin (dvija) in the narrative
FAQs
It signals proper atithi-dharma (ethical hospitality) and sets the narrative frame for the visitor’s purpose, allowing the ensuing teaching or episode to unfold.
A respectful inquiry—who the visitor is, where they come from, and where they go—functions as a formal gateway into instruction, genealogy, or dharma discourse.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purana’s ethic of dharma—right conduct toward the dvija and guest—operates within Vishnu’s sustaining order (dharma as the mode of preservation).