Shloka 8
अध्याय ३५१ — उञ्छवृत्ति-व्रतसिद्धेः मानुषस्य परमगतिः
Sūrya–Nāga Dialogue on the Perfected Gleaner-Ascetic
किमतः: पूर्वजं जन्म व्यासस्यामिततेजस: । कथयस्वोत्तममते जन्म नारायणोद्धवम्
kim ataḥ pūrvajaṁ janma vyāsasyāmitatejasaḥ | kathayasvottamamate janma nārāyaṇoddhavam, śreṣṭha buddhivāle munīśvara |
जनमेजय ने कहा—“क्या अमिततेजस्वी व्यास का इससे पहले भी कोई जन्म था? हे उत्तम बुद्धिवाले! नारायण से व्यास का जन्म कब और किस प्रकार हुआ—यह बताइए; हे श्रेष्ठ मुनि, कृपा करके समझाइए।”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dhārmic inquiry: a king seeks the sacred genealogy and divine source of a revered sage, implying that understanding the origins of wisdom-teachers (ṛṣis) supports ethical orientation and faith in the transmission of dharma.
Janamejaya questions the narrator-sage about Vyāsa’s earlier existence and requests a detailed account of how and when Vyāsa’s birth is said to have arisen from Nārāyaṇa, setting up a theological and genealogical explanation within Śānti Parva.