Shloka 2
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
चरन्तं हंसरूपेण महर्षि संशितव्रतम् । साध्या देवा महाप्राज्ञं पर्यपृच्छन्त वै पुरा
carantaṃ haṃsarūpeṇa maharṣiṃ saṃśitavratam | sādhya devā mahāprājñaṃ paryapṛcchanta vai purā ||
遠い昔、厳しい苦行の誓いに堅く立つ大聖仙は、ハンサ（haṃsa、いわゆる「パラマハンサ」paramahaṃsa の象徴）の姿となって遍歴していた。その上古の時、サーディヤの神々はこの至智の者に近づき、正しい行いと至高の真理について導きを求めて問いかけた。
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma as something approached through humble inquiry: even divine beings seek instruction from a sage who embodies disciplined vows and higher discernment, suggesting that ethical clarity arises from wisdom, restraint, and asking the right questions.
Vidura introduces an ancient episode: a great sage, moving about in the symbolic haṃsa/paramahaṃsa form, is approached by the Sādhya gods, who question him—setting up a didactic dialogue meant to illuminate right conduct and higher truth.