Nāgendra–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Praśna-vidhi and Dharmic Approach on the Gomatī Riverbank
जगौ यद् भगवान् व्यासो राज्ञ: पारिक्षितस्य वै । सूतपुत्रने कहा--शौनकजी! मैं तुमसे वेदतुल्य प्रमाणभूत सारा पुरातन वृत्तान्त कहूँगा
jagau yad bhagavān vyāso rājñaḥ pārīkṣitasya vai | sūtaputrāya kathā—śaunakajī! ahaṃ tubhyaṃ vedatulyapramāṇabhūtaṃ sarvaṃ purātana-vṛttāntaṃ vakṣyāmi, yaṃ bhagavān vyāsaḥ rājñe janamejayāya śrāvayāmāsa | manaś caiva api tato bhūtam avyaktaguṇa-lakṣaṇam | nārāyaṇa-paraḥ kālo jyotiṣām ayanaṃ ca yat ||
Śaunaka dijo: «Ese relato antiguo, autorizado como el Veda, que el bienaventurado Vyāsa recitó en la estirpe de Parīkṣit y transmitió al hijo del Sūta, os lo referiré ahora. La Mente misma, el principio no manifestado (avyakta) caracterizado por cualidades y señales sutiles, así como el Tiempo y el curso de las luminarias celestes: todo ello reposa en Nārāyaṇa y depende de Él».
शौनक उवाच
The verse asserts a theological-metaphysical hierarchy: mind (as an unmanifest principle), time, and the motions of the luminaries are not independent ultimate realities; they are grounded in and dependent upon Nārāyaṇa as the supreme support.
Śaunaka frames the transmission of an ancient, Veda-like authoritative account: what Vyāsa conveyed within the royal lineage (Parīkṣit/Janamejaya) and to the Sūta’s son is now being retold, introducing a cosmological teaching centered on Nārāyaṇa.