Shloka 5
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Inquiry and Sañjaya’s Etymologies of Kṛṣṇa’s Names
Puruṣottama-nāma-nirvacana
संजय उवाच मायां न सेवे भद्रें ते न वृथा धर्ममाचरे । शुद्धभावं गतो भक््त्या शास्त्राद् वेझि जनार्दनम्
sañjaya uvāca māyāṃ na seve bhadraṃ te na vṛthā dharmam ācare | śuddhabhāvaṃ gato bhaktyā śāstrād vetsi janārdanam ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Semoga tuanku sejahtera, wahai Raja. Aku tidak bersandar pada tipu daya, dan aku tidak mengamalkan agama secara sia-sia sebagai pertunjukan semata. Dengan bhakti, batinku telah disucikan; maka, berlandaskan kewibawaan śāstra, aku mengenal Janārdana (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) sebagaimana adanya.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
True religious life is marked by sincerity: avoiding deceit (māyā) and rejecting hollow, performative dharma. Devotion (bhakti) purifies the inner disposition, enabling genuine understanding of Kṛṣṇa (Janārdana) grounded in śāstra rather than in pretense.
Sanjaya, speaking to the king, asserts his moral credibility: he does not employ trickery and does not follow dharma as hypocrisy. He explains that through devotion his mind has become pure, and thus he is able—by scriptural testimony—to know and speak rightly about Janārdana (Śrī Kṛṣṇa).