Shloka 59

अध्याय ३५१ — उञ्छवृत्ति-व्रतसिद्धेः मानुषस्य परमगतिः

Sūrya–Nāga Dialogue on the Perfected Gleaner-Ascetic

Devanagari script

सो<हं तस्य प्रसादेन देवस्य हरिमेधस: । अपान्तरतमा नाम ततो जातो<७ज्ञया हरे: । पुनश्च जातो विख्यातो वसिष्ठकुलनन्दन:

Transliteration

so ’haṁ tasya prasādena devasya harimedhasaḥ | apāntaratamā nāma tato jāto ’jñayā hareḥ | punaś ca jāto vikhyāto vasiṣṭhakulanandanaḥ vyāsa-nāmnā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Par la grâce de ce Seigneur divin, Hari, dont la sagesse ne défaille pas, je naquis jadis sous le nom d’Apāntaratamā. Et maintenant, par l’ordre de ce même Śrī Hari, je suis né de nouveau—illustre comme Vyāsa, la joie de la lignée de Vasiṣṭha.»

Word by Word

• {'so ’ham': 'I indeed

• I myself', 'tasya prasādena': 'by his grace/favor', 'devasya': 'of the god

• of the divine Lord', 'harimedhasaḥ': 'of Hari of (unfailing) intelligence/wisdom', 'apāntaratamā': 'Apāntaratamā (a former birth/name)', 'nāma': 'by name

• named', 'tataḥ': 'then

• from that (cause)', 'jātaḥ': 'born

• arisen', 'ājñayā': 'by the command/ordinance', 'hareḥ': 'of Hari (Viṣṇu)', 'punaḥ ca': 'and again

• once more', 'vikhyātaḥ': 'well-known

• renowned', 'vasiṣṭha-kula-nandanaḥ': 'the joy/delight of Vasiṣṭha’s family/lineage', 'vyāsa': 'Vyāsa (the arranger/compiler

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Hari
• Viṣṇu
• Apāntaratamā
• Vasiṣṭha
• Vyāsa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes divine grace and divine command as the ultimate causes behind a sage’s manifestation and mission: spiritual authority and renown are presented as arising from Hari’s favor, not merely from personal effort or worldly status.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker identifies himself across births: he states that he was earlier born as Apāntaratamā through the Lord’s grace, and that by the same Lord Hari’s command he has been born again and become famous as Vyāsa, associated with the lineage of Vasiṣṭha.