Shloka 28
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
पज्चविंशतिमं प्रश्न॑ पप्रच्छान्वीक्षिकी तदा । विश्वाविश्वं तथाश्चाश्वृं मित्र वरुणमेव च
pañcaviṁśatitamaṁ praśnaṁ papracchānvīkṣikī tadā | viśvāviśvaṁ tathā cāśvaṁ mitra varuṇam eva ca pṛthvīnātha |
Kemudian ia mengajukan pertanyaan kedua puluh lima tentang disiplin penyelidikan rasional (ānvīkṣikī). Wahai penguasa bumi, setelah menanyakan dua puluh empat pertanyaan tentang Veda, ia melanjutkan: “Apakah viśvā? Apakah aviśva? Apakah aśva? Apakah an-aśva? Apakah Mitra? Apakah Varuṇa?”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a shift from purely Vedic questioning to Ānvīkṣikī—disciplined rational inquiry—by posing paired contrast-questions (all/not-all, horse/non-horse) and invoking Vedic deities (Mitra, Varuṇa). It highlights that understanding dharma and reality involves both scriptural tradition and careful conceptual analysis.
Yājñavalkya reports that, after a set of twenty-four questions about the Veda, the interlocutor raises the twenty-fifth question concerning Ānvīkṣikī and lists specific items to be defined or understood: viśvā, aviśva, aśva, non-aśva, and the deities Mitra and Varuṇa.