कस्मिंश्चिदथ संप्राप्ते प्रस्तावे त्रिदशेश्वरः । पप्रच्छ विनयोपेतो विप्रश्रेष्ठं बृहस्पतिम्
kasmiṃścidatha saṃprāpte prastāve tridaśeśvaraḥ | papraccha vinayopeto vipraśreṣṭhaṃ bṛhaspatim
やがて、ある折に話の機縁が熟したとき、神々の主はへりくだり、婆羅門の中で最勝なるブリハスパティに問いかけた。
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator introducing Indra’s question; subsequent speaker: Bṛhaspati)
Listener: Audience of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa discourse (implicit)
Scene: Indra, crowned and radiant, stands or sits with folded hands, humbly questioning Bṛhaspati, the serene guru of the gods, in a celestial hall.
True inquiry into dharma begins with humility, even for the highest worldly powers.
This verse sets up the discourse within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the specific tīrtha is not named in this line.
None in this verse; it introduces a respectful question-and-answer setting.