Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
तस्य मे तप्ततपसो निगृहीतेन्द्रियस्थ च । नारायणप्रसादेन क्षीरोदस्यानुकूलत:
tasya me taptatapaso nigṛhītendriyastha ca | nārāyaṇaprasādena kṣīrodasyānukūlataḥ ||
“Tatkala aku telah menyempurnakan tapa itu, setelah menundukkan pancaindera, maka dengan rahmat Nārāyaṇa dan dengan dukungan baik Samudra Susu, aku memperoleh pengetahuan tentang tiga zaman menurut kehendakku. Maka untuk menghapus keraguanmu, akan kukatakan hal yang utama dan selaras dengan keadilan; dengarlah dengan tumpuan hati.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
True insight is presented as arising from disciplined austerity and restraint of the senses, but it is ultimately perfected by divine grace (Nārāyaṇa-prasāda). Such knowledge should then be used ethically—to resolve doubts and articulate what is just (nyāyocita).
Vaiśampāyana explains the authority behind his forthcoming instruction: after completing tapas and mastering self-control, he received—through Nārāyaṇa’s favor and the auspicious setting of the Ocean of Milk—knowledge of the three times. He now promises to answer the listeners’ doubts with a proper, justice-aligned teaching.