Shloka 8

Deva–Asura–Gandharva–Nāga Vaṃśa-kathana

Genealogies and Partial Descents

Devanagari script

मन:सागरसम्भूतां महर्षेर्भावितात्मन: । कथयस्व सतां श्रेष्ठ सर्वरत्नमयीमिमाम्‌,यह कथा पवित्र अन्तःकरणवाले महर्षि वेद-व्यासके हृदयरूपी समुद्रसे प्रकट हुए सब प्रकारके शुभ विचाररूपी रत्नोंसे परिपूर्ण है। साधुशिरोमणे! आप इस कथाको मुझे सुनाइये

Transliteration

manaḥ-sāgara-sambhūtāṃ maharṣer bhāvitātmanaḥ | kathayasva satāṃ śreṣṭha sarva-ratna-mayīm imām ||

Translation

Ô le meilleur des vertueux, je t’en prie, raconte ce récit sacré—né de l’océan qu’est l’esprit et le cœur du grand ṛṣi, dont l’être intérieur est purifié et maîtrisé. Il est rempli de pensées auspiciées de toute sorte, tel un trésor de joyaux ; dis-le-moi donc, car il sanctifie le for intérieur.

Word by Word

• {'manaḥ': 'mind, inner faculty of thought', 'sāgara': 'ocean, vast reservoir', 'sambhūtā': 'arisen from, originated', 'maharṣi': 'great seer', 'bhāvitātmā': 'one whose self is cultivated/purified

• disciplined in spirit', 'kathayasva': 'please narrate

• tell (imperative, respectful request)', 'satām': 'of the good/virtuous', 'śreṣṭha': 'best, foremost', 'sarva': 'all, every', 'ratna': 'jewel

• figuratively, precious virtues/insights', 'mayī': 'consisting of

• filled with', 'imām': 'this (feminine accusative), referring to the kathā'}

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śaunaka
• Mahārṣi (implicitly Vyāsa in the prose gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sacred history and dharmic instruction should be received from the virtuous and transmitted as a means of inner purification; true teaching is portrayed as arising from a seer’s disciplined, purified consciousness and containing many ‘jewel-like’ auspicious insights.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka respectfully requests the foremost among the virtuous to narrate a holy account, praising it as a jewel-filled story that has arisen from the vast, ocean-like mind/heart of a great seer (understood in context as Vyāsa) and that purifies the listener’s inner faculty.