Shloka 20
अध्याय ३३७ — ज्ञानमार्ग-वैविध्यप्रश्नः तथा व्यासस्य नारायणोद्भवकथा
Systems of Knowledge and Vyāsa’s Nārāyaṇa-Origin
एकततद्वितत्रिताश्नोचुस्ततश्चित्रशिखण्डिन:
Ekatad-dvita-tritāś coccus tataś citraśikhaṇḍinaḥ; tadanantaraṃ ekata-dvita-tritāś ca citraśikhaṇḍī-nāmāna ṛṣayo 'bruvan— “Bṛhaspate! vayaṃ brahmaṇaḥ mānasaputrāḥ ucyāmahe. Ekadā svakalyāṇecchayā sarve vayam uttaradiśaṃ yātrāṃ kṛtavantaḥ …”
भीष्म म्हणाले—त्यानंतर एकत, द्वित, त्रित आणि चित्रशिखंडी नावाचे ऋषी त्यांना म्हणाले—“हे बृहस्पते! आम्ही ब्रह्मदेवांचे मानसपुत्र म्हणून प्रसिद्ध आहोत. एकदा आपल्या कल्याणाच्या इच्छेने आम्ही सर्वजण उत्तर दिशेकडे प्रवासास निघालो …”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage foregrounds the authority and responsibility of sages: those who claim a lofty spiritual lineage (as Brahmā’s mind-born sons) must pursue genuine inner welfare (kalyāṇa) through disciplined seeking. It sets an ethical tone that true status is validated by sincere spiritual striving.
Within Bhishma’s discourse, a group of sages—Ekata, Dvita, Trita, and Chitrashikhandin—begin addressing Brihaspati. They introduce themselves as Brahmā’s mind-born sons and start recounting an earlier episode in which they traveled north in search of spiritual good, leading into the next part of the story.