Shloka 26
Adhyāya 3: Indra’s Invitation and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Refusal to Abandon the Dog
Svargārohaṇa Test
ततो देवनिकायस्थो नारद: सर्वलोकवित् | उवाचोच्चैस्तदा वाक््यं बृहद्वादी बृहत्तपा:,उस समय सम्पूर्ण लोकोंका वृत्तान्त जाननेवाले, बोलनेमें कुशल तथा महान् तपस्वी देवर्षि नारदजीने देवमण्डलमें स्थित हो उच्च स्वरसे कहा--
tato devanikāyastho nāradaḥ sarvalokavit | uvācoccais tadā vākyaṃ bṛhadvādī bṛhattapāḥ ||
Then Nārada—stationed among the hosts of the gods, knowing the affairs of all the worlds, eloquent in speech and great in austerity—raised his voice and spoke aloud. The scene signals that what follows is not mere rumor but a proclamation grounded in cosmic knowledge and moral authority.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of testimony: a statement delivered by a sage who is both all-knowing (sarvalokavit) and disciplined by austerity (bṛhattapāḥ) carries moral authority. It prepares the listener to treat the forthcoming message as aligned with dharma and the wider cosmic order.
Vaiśampāyana reports that Nārada, present among the gods, speaks out loudly. This functions as a narrative cue that an important announcement or judgment is about to be made, witnessed in a divine setting rather than a private human conversation.