Shloka 9
आदि पर्व — अध्याय ५५: पाण्डव-कौरववैरस्य संक्षेपवृत्तान्तः
Synopsis of the Pāṇḍava–Kaurava Estrangement
ऋषत्विक् समो नास्ति लोकेषु चैव दैपायनेनेति विनिकश्षितं मे । एतस्य शिष्या: क्षितिमाचरन्ति सर्वर्त्विज: कर्मसु स्वेषु दक्षा:,द्वैपायन व्यासजीके समान पारलौकिक साधनोंमें कुशल दूसरा कोई ऋत्विज नहीं है, यह मेरा निश्चित मत है। इनके शिष्य ही अपने-अपने कर्मोंमें निपुण होता, उदगाता आदि सभी प्रकारके ऋत्विज हैं, जो यज्ञ करानेके लिये सम्पूर्ण भूमण्डलमें विचरते रहते हैं
ṛṣatvik-samo nāsti lokeṣu caiva daipāyaneneti vinikaṣṣitaṃ me | etasya śiṣyāḥ kṣitim ācaranti sarvartvijaḥ karmasu sveṣu dakṣāḥ ||
Āstīka disse: “Em todos os mundos não há sacerdote oficiante igual a Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa)—esta é a minha convicção firmada. Seus discípulos, hábeis em seus próprios deveres rituais como toda espécie de ṛtvij—udgātṛ e outros—percorrem a terra inteira para conduzir sacrifícios.”
आस्तीक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and cultural ideal of recognizing true competence and spiritual authority: Vyāsa is presented as unsurpassed in ritual expertise, and his disciples embody disciplined mastery of their respective duties, spreading Vedic practice across the world.
Āstīka is speaking in praise of Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa), asserting that no priest equals him and noting that Vyāsa’s disciples, proficient as various types of sacrificial priests, travel widely to officiate at yajñas.