Shloka 4
Āstīka Stops the Sarpa-satra; Royal Closure and Protective Phalaśruti (आस्तीकः सर्पसत्रनिवर्तनम्)
सौतिरुवाच हन्त ते कथयिष्यामि नामानीह मनीषिणाम् । ये ऋत्विज: सदस्याश्न तस्यासन् नृपतेस्तदा,उग्रश्रवाजीने कहा--शौनकजी! मैं आपको उन मनीषी महात्माओंके नाम बता रहा हूँ, जो उस समय राजा जनमेजयके ऋत्विज् और सदस्य थे। उस यज्ञमें वेद-वेत्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मण चण्डभार्गव होता थे। उनका जन्म च्यवन मुनिके वंशमें हुआ था। वे उस समयके विख्यात कर्मकाण्डी थे। वृद्ध एवं विद्वान ब्राह्मण कौत्स उदगाता, जैमिनि ब्रह्मा तथा शार्जरव और पिंगल अध्वर्यु थे
sautir uvāca hanta te kathayiṣyāmi nāmānīha manīṣiṇām | ye ṛtvijaḥ sadasyāś ca tasyāsan nṛpates tadā ||
Sauti said: “Very well—now I shall tell you the names of those wise sages who, at that time, served as the officiating priests and learned members of the sacrificial assembly for that king. ”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the Mahābhārata’s reliance on qualified authority: sacred history is transmitted through recognized narrators and validated by learned ritual experts. It emphasizes that dharma and tradition are preserved through disciplined speech, memory, and the institutional setting of yajña and sabhā.
Ugraśravas (Sauti), responding to Śaunaka’s inquiry, transitions into a catalog: he is about to name the sages who served as officiating priests (ṛtvij) and assembly members (sadasya) at the king’s sacrifice—contextually, Janamejaya’s great rite.