Shloka 1133
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
किं वै ब्रह्मा न जानीते यत: शुश्राव नारदात् । युधिष्ठिरे पूछा-पितामह! बुद्धिमान् नारायण-देवका माहात्म्य तो बड़ा ही आश्चर्यमय है। क्या ब्रह्माजी इसे नहीं जानते थे कि नारदजीके मुखसे इसका श्रवण किया?
kiṃ vai brahmā na jānīte yataḥ śuśrāva nāradāt | yudhiṣṭhira uvāca—pitāmaha, buddhimān nārāyaṇa-devakā māhātmyaṃ tu baḍaṃ hī āścaryamayaṃ; kiṃ brahmājī etad na jānanti sma, yat nāradajī-mukhāt asya śravaṇaṃ kṛtavān iti?
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Grand-père, la grandeur du sage Seigneur Nārāyaṇa est vraiment stupéfiante. Brahmā ne la connaissait-il pas déjà, pour devoir l’entendre de la bouche de Nārada ?»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the highest beings honor the discipline of receiving sacred knowledge through an authorized source; greatness is approached through humility and śravaṇa (reverent listening), not mere status.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha) with a pointed question: if Nārāyaṇa’s glory is so extraordinary, why did Brahmā hear it from Nārada—was it unknown to him beforehand?