सुवर्णष्ठीविनोपाख्यानम्
The Account of Suvarṇaṣṭhīvin
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! तदनन्तर पाण्डुपुत्र राजा युधिष्ठिरने नारदजीसे कहा--'भगवन्! मैं सुवर्णष्ठीवीके जन्मका वृत्तान्त सुनना चाहता हूँ ।। एवमुक्तस्तु स मुनिर्धर्मराजेन नारद: । आचचक्षे यथावृत्तं सुवर्णष्ठीविनं प्रति,धर्मराजके ऐसा कहनेपर नारदमुनिने सुवर्णष्टीवीके जन्मका यथावत् वृत्तान्त कहना आरम्भ किया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | janamejaya! tadanantaraṃ pāṇḍuputro rājā yudhiṣṭhiro nāradam uvāca— “bhagavan! ahaṃ suvarṇaṣṭhīvināṃ janma-vṛttāntaṃ śrotum icchāmi।” evam uktaḥ sa munir dharmarājena nāradaḥ ācaṣṭe yathā-vṛttaṃ suvarṇaṣṭhīvinaṃ prati |
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Ó Janamejaya, depois disso o rei Yudhiṣṭhira, filho de Pāṇḍu, dirigiu-se a Nārada: ‘Venerável senhor, desejo ouvir o relato do nascimento de Suvarṇaṣṭhīvin.’ Assim solicitado por Dharmarāja, o sábio Nārada começou a narrar, em devida ordem e tal como realmente ocorreu, a história referente a Suvarṇaṣṭhīvin.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse models dharmic inquiry: a righteous king seeks instruction through attentive listening (śravaṇa) from a trustworthy sage, and the sage responds by narrating events “as they truly occurred” (yathā-vṛttam), emphasizing truthful transmission as an ethical duty.
Vaiśampāyana reports that Yudhiṣṭhira requests Nārada to tell the birth-account of Suvarṇaṣṭhīvin; Nārada, prompted by Dharmarāja, begins the narration in proper order.