Shloka 85

Āścarya-kathana: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Dialogue on Sūrya (Vivasvat) and the ‘Second Sun’ Phenomenon

Devanagari script

एवं हि स महाभागो नारदो गुरवे मम । श्वेतानां यतिनां चाह एकान्तगतिमव्ययाम्‌,इस प्रकार महाभाग नारदजीने मेरे गुरु व्यासजीसे श्वेतवस्त्रधारी गृहस्थों और काषायवस्त्रधारी संन्यासियोंकी अविनश्वर एकान्त गतिका वर्णन किया है

Transliteration

evaṁ hi sa mahābhāgo nārado gurave mama | śvetānāṁ yatināṁ cāha ekāntagatim avyayām ||

Translation

Assim o ilustre Nārada descreveu ao meu mestre Vyāsa o curso supremo, solitário e imperecível—referido tanto aos chefes de família vestidos de branco quanto aos ascetas—mostrando que o refúgio último reside no recolhimento interior inabalável e na firmeza constante no caminho.

Word by Word

एवम्thus, in this manner

हिindeed, for

सःhe

महाभागःthe greatly fortunate (one)

नारदःNarada

गुरवेto the teacher

ममof me, my

श्वेतानाम्of the white(-clad)

यतिनाम्of ascetics

चand

आहsaid, spoke

एकान्तगतिम्the solitary/absolute course (final path)

अव्ययाम्imperishable

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Nārada

Vyāsa

śvetāḥ (white-clad practitioners/householders)

yatayaḥ (ascetics/renunciants)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse points to an imperishable 'ekānta-gati'—a final, exclusive spiritual course grounded in inner withdrawal and single-pointed pursuit of liberation—presented as applicable across outward modes of life, whether one is a white-clad practitioner/householder or an ascetic.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that the sage Nārada instructed Vyāsa (the narrator’s teacher), explaining the enduring highest destination or path associated with different life-styles—those marked by white clothing and those of ascetic striving—within the broader Shānti Parva discourse on dharma and liberation.