Shloka 4
आस्तीक-उपाख्यान-प्रस्तावः | Introduction to the Āstīka Narrative
सच द्विजातिप्रवर: कस्य पुत्रोडभिधत्स्व मे । शौनकजीने पूछा--सूतजी! राजाओंमें श्रेष्ठ जनमेजयने किसलिये सर्पसत्रद्वारा सर्पोका अन्त किया? यह प्रसंग मुझसे कहिये। सूतनन्दन! इस विषयकी सब बातोंका यथार्थरूपसे वर्णन कीजिये। जप-यज्ञ करनेवाले पुरुषोंमें श्रेष्ठ विप्रवर आस्तीकने किसलिये सर्पोंको प्रज्वलित अग्निमें जलनेसे बचाया और वे राजा जनमेजय, जिन्होंने सर्पसत्रका आयोजन किया था, किसके पुत्र थे? तथा द्विजवंशशिरोमणि आस्तीक भी किसके पुत्र थे? यह मुझे बताइये ।। १ ३३ || सौतिर्वाच महदाख्यानमास्तीकं यथैतत् प्रोच्यते द्विज
sa ca dvijāti-pravaraḥ kasya putro 'bhidhatsva me |
Śaunaka said: “And that foremost among the twice-born—whose son was he? Tell me.” In context, Śaunaka presses Sauti to clarify the lineage behind the pivotal figures of the serpent-sacrifice: who King Janamejaya was descended from, and whose son Āstīka was—the brahmin whose intervention restrained the destructive momentum of the rite and restored a dharmic balance between royal vengeance and compassionate restraint.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the Mahābhārata’s ethical method: before judging actions (like a destructive sacrifice), one must understand causes, relationships, and responsibilities. Lineage here is not mere genealogy; it frames dharma—how inherited duties, past harms, and social roles shape moral choices, and how compassion (Āstīka’s intervention) can check vengeance.
At Naimiṣāraṇya, Śaunaka questions Sauti about the key brahmin (Āstīka) connected with the serpent-sacrifice episode. He asks Sauti to identify whose son that eminent twice-born was, as part of clarifying the background of Janamejaya’s sarpa-satra and the circumstances by which Āstīka halted the burning of the snakes.