Shloka 466

Nāga-āyatana-darśana-pratīkṣā — The Brāhmaṇa’s Request and Waiting on the Gomatī

Devanagari script

श्वेतद्वीपे त्वया दृष्ट आवयो: प्रकृति: परा । नर-नारायण बोले--देवर्षे! क्या तुमने इस समय श्वेतद्वीपमें जाकर हम दोनोंका परम कारणरूप सनातन परमात्मा भगवान्‌का दर्शन कर लिया?

Transliteration

śvetadvīpe tvayā dṛṣṭā āvayoḥ prakṛtiḥ parā | nara-nārāyaṇau ūcatuḥ—devarṣe! kiṁ tvam asmin samaye śvetadvīpaṁ gatvā āvayoḥ parama-kāraṇa-rūpaṁ sanātanaṁ paramātmānaṁ bhagavantaṁ darśanaṁ kṛtavān?

Translation

Vaiśampāyana disse: Em Śvetadvīpa contemplaste a nossa fonte suprema e transcendente. Nara e Nārāyaṇa perguntaram: “Ó vidente divino, foste agora a Śvetadvīpa e obtiveste a visão daquele Senhor eterno — o Ser Supremo — que é o princípio causal mais elevado por trás de nós dois?”

Word by Word

श्वेतद्वीपेin Śvetadvīpa (the White Island)

त्वयाby you

दृष्टाseen

आवयोःof us two

प्रकृतिःnature; original cause

पराsupreme

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Śvetadvīpa

Nara

Nārāyaṇa

Devarṣi

Paramātmā (Supreme Self)

Bhagavān (the Lord)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames the Supreme Lord (Paramātmā/Bhagavān) as the ultimate, eternal causal principle even behind exalted beings like Nara and Nārāyaṇa, emphasizing that true spiritual attainment is confirmed through direct realization (darśana) of the transcendent source.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports a dialogue in which Nara and Nārāyaṇa question a divine seer about whether he has gone to Śvetadvīpa and actually beheld the eternal Supreme Lord, recalling that the seer had previously witnessed their supreme transcendent source there.