Shloka 23
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
कर्तु शतपथं चेदमपूर्व च कृतं मया । यथाभिलषितं मार्ग तथा तच्चोपपादितम्
kartuḥ śatapathaṃ cedam apūrvaṃ ca kṛtaṃ mayā | yathābhilaṣitaṃ mārgaṃ tathā tac copapāditam, nareśvara! tadantaraṃ mayā bījarūpaṃ praṇavaṃ ca sarasvatī-devīṃ ca sammukhaṃ kṛtvā bhagavat sūryasya kṛpayā śatapathasya racanām ārabdhā | etam apūrva-granthaṃ ca pūrṇaṃ kṛtavān asmi | yaś ca mokṣa-mārgo mama abhīṣṭaḥ sa api bhalībhānti sampāditaḥ ||
Yājñavalkya dit : «Ô roi, j’ai composé ce Śatapatha, œuvre sans précédent, et j’ai aussi exposé, comme je le désirais, la voie qui mène plus avant. Puis, plaçant devant moi le Praṇava, le “Oṃ” sous forme de semence, et la déesse Sarasvatī, par la grâce du Soleil vénérable je commençai la composition du Śatapatha. À présent j’ai achevé cette œuvre extraordinaire, et j’ai aussi accompli comme il se doit la voie de la délivrance que je recherchais.»
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual knowledge is to be properly established and completed through disciplined composition/teaching, grounded in sacred sound (Oṃ), guided speech and learning (Sarasvatī), and sustained by divine grace (Sūrya). The verse links scholarship and liberation: a true ‘path’ is not merely conceived but responsibly ‘set forth’ and fulfilled toward mokṣa.
Yājñavalkya addresses a king and reports that he has composed an extraordinary work called the Śatapatha and has also articulated the liberation-path he intended. He describes beginning the work by invoking Oṃ and Sarasvatī and relying on the Sun’s grace, and he declares the text and his intended mokṣa-oriented undertaking complete.