Shloka 27
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
चतुर्विशांस्ततो5पृच्छत् प्रश्नान् वेदस्य पार्थिव
caturviṁśāṁs tato 'pṛcchat praśnān vedasya pārthiva, pṛthvīnātha! tatpaścāt ānvīkṣikī-vidyā-sambandhe pañcaviṁśaṁ praśnam upasthāpayan; te caturviṁśati-praśnāḥ—1. viśvā kim? 2. aviśvaṁ kim? 3. aśvā kim? 4. aśvaḥ kaḥ? 5. mitraḥ kaḥ? 6. varuṇaḥ kaḥ?
Yājñavalkya dijo: «¡Oh rey, señor de la tierra! Después, formuló veinticuatro preguntas acerca del Veda. Luego planteó una vigésima quinta pregunta sobre la disciplina de la indagación racional (ānvīkṣikī). Esas veinticuatro preguntas védicas comienzan así: “¿Qué es viśvā? ¿Qué es aviśva? ¿Qué es aśvā? ¿Qué es aśva? ¿Quién es Mitra? ¿Quién es Varuṇa?”»
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames dharma-oriented learning as disciplined inquiry: Vedic terms and deities are not merely named but examined through precise questions, and this is complemented by ānvīkṣikī—critical reflection that tests meanings and principles.
Yājñavalkya reports that a king (addressed as ‘lord of the earth’) proceeds to question him: first with twenty-four definitional questions about Vedic concepts, and then with a twenty-fifth question about the science of rational inquiry; the text begins listing the Vedic questions (viśvā/aviśva, aśvā/aśva, Mitra, Varuṇa, etc.).