Shloka 2
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
चरन्तं हंसरूपेण महर्षि संशितव्रतम् । साध्या देवा महाप्राज्ञं पर्यपृच्छन्त वै पुरा,प्राचीनकालकी बात है, उत्तम व्रतवाले महाबुद्धिमान् महर्षि दत्तात्रेयजी हंस (परमहंस)-रूपसे विचर रहे थे; उस समय साध्यदेवताओंने उनसे पूछा
carantaṃ haṃsarūpeṇa maharṣiṃ saṃśitavratam | sādhya devā mahāprājñaṃ paryapṛcchanta vai purā ||
Em tempos remotos, o grande sábio—firme em seus votos de austeridade—vagava na forma de um haṃsa (emblema do ‘paramahaṃsa’). Naquela era antiga, os deuses Sādhya aproximaram-se desse supremo conhecedor e o interrogaram, buscando orientação sobre a reta conduta e a verdade mais elevada.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma as something approached through humble inquiry: even divine beings seek instruction from a sage who embodies disciplined vows and higher discernment, suggesting that ethical clarity arises from wisdom, restraint, and asking the right questions.
Vidura introduces an ancient episode: a great sage, moving about in the symbolic haṃsa/paramahaṃsa form, is approached by the Sādhya gods, who question him—setting up a didactic dialogue meant to illuminate right conduct and higher truth.