Shloka 3
Inquiry into Sacred Fords and the Merit of Earth-Circumambulation
Narada–Yudhishthira; Entry into the Dilipa–Vasistha Episode
सूत उवाच । धन्यं पुण्यं महाख्यानं पृष्टमेव तपोधनाः । यथामति प्रवक्ष्यामि यथायोगं यथाश्रुतम्
sūta uvāca | dhanyaṃ puṇyaṃ mahākhyānaṃ pṛṣṭameva tapodhanāḥ | yathāmati pravakṣyāmi yathāyogaṃ yathāśrutam
Сута сказал: О подвижники, сокровища тапаса, вы поистине спросили о великом повествовании — благом и исполненном заслуги. Я изложу его по мере своего разумения, как подобает, и так, как я слышал.
Sūta
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: सूत उवाच → सूतः उवाच (visarga sandhi in Devanagari often omitted in padaccheda); पृष्टम्+एव → पृष्टमेव; यथा+मति → यथामति; यथा+योगम् → यथायोगम्; यथा+श्रुतम् → यथाश्रुतम्.
FAQs
The speaker is Sūta, the traditional Purāṇic narrator, addressing ascetics described as tapodhanāḥ (“those whose wealth is austerity”).
It signals narration grounded in proper context (yathāyogam) and faithful transmission from received tradition (yathāśrutam), emphasizing paramparā-based authenticity rather than personal invention.
Humility and responsibility: Sūta presents the account as sacred and beneficial, while acknowledging he will speak within his understanding and in line with what he has heard.