Shloka 24
Adhyaya 1 — Jaimini’s Questions on the Mahabharata and the Origin of the Wise Birds
जैमिनिरुवाच अत्यद्भुतमिदं ब्रह्मन् खगवागिव मानुषी ।
यत् पक्षिणस् ते विज्ञानमापुरत्यन्तदुर्लभम् ॥
jaiminir uvāca atyadbhutam idaṁ brahman khagavāg iva mānuṣī | yat pakṣiṇas te vijñānam āpur atyantadurlabham ||
Jaimini berkata: “Wahai Brahmana, ini sungguh menakjubkan—ucapannya seperti burung, namun maknanya manusiawi; bagaimana burung-burung ini memperoleh pengetahuan yang amat sukar didapat?”
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FAQs
The verse foregrounds jijñāsā (earnest inquiry): true knowledge is not restricted by outer form or social category. Even beings regarded as ‘lower’ (birds) can become vehicles of dharma and wisdom, urging humility and attentiveness to the source of instruction.
This verse functions as narrative framing rather than directly stating one of the pañcalakṣaṇa topics (sarga, pratisarga, vaṁśa, manvantara, vaṁśānucarita). It prepares the listener for dharma/itihāsa-style instruction that may later connect to genealogies and manvantaras.
Symbolically, ‘bird-speech with human meaning’ suggests that wisdom can be encoded in unconventional forms: the capacity to hear the inner meaning (artha) beyond the outer sound (śabda). It hints at viveka—discerning the subtle teaching concealed within ordinary appearances.