Shloka 27
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
यदवाप्तं च मे पूर्व साम्बहेतो: सुदुष्करम् । यथावद् भगवान् दृष्टो मया पूर्व समाधिना
yad avāptaṃ ca me pūrva sāmbhetoḥ suduṣkaram | yathāvad bhagavān dṛṣṭo mayā pūrva-samādhinā ||
Vāsudeva berkata: “Apa yang dahulu kuperoleh—yang amat sukar diraih—demi Sāmba, serta bagaimana melalui samādhi pada masa lampau aku menyaksikan Bhagavān Śaṅkara dengan tepat dan utuh: seluruh kisah itu kini akan kuceritakan.”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that extraordinary spiritual attainments—true knowledge and direct vision of the divine—are gained through disciplined effort (tapas) and concentrated meditation (samādhi), especially when undertaken for a righteous purpose (here, for Sāmba).
Vāsudeva introduces a forthcoming account: he will narrate how, in the past, he achieved something very hard to obtain for Sāmba’s sake and how he previously beheld the Lord through samādhi—setting up a retrospective episode of austerity and divine encounter.