Shloka 16
Lord Śiva Instructs the Pracetās (Śiva-stuti and the Path of Bhakti)
विदुर उवाच प्रचेतसां गिरित्रेण यथासीत्पथि सङ्गम: । यदुताह हर: प्रीतस्तन्नो ब्रह्मन् वदार्थवत् ॥ १६ ॥
vidura uvāca pracetasāṁ giritreṇa yathāsīt pathi saṅgamaḥ yad utāha haraḥ prītas tan no brahman vadārthavat
विदुर उवाच—प्रचेतसां गिरित्रेण पथि यथासीत् सङ्गमः। हरः कथं प्रीतोऽभवत् किं च तान् उपादिशत्, तद् अस्मान् ब्रह्मन् अर्थवत् वद॥
Whenever there are some important talks between a devotee and the Lord or between exalted devotees, one should be very much curious to hear them. At the meeting of Naimiṣāraṇya, where Sūta Gosvāmī spoke Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to all the great sages, Sūta Gosvāmī was also asked about the talks between Mahārāja Parīkṣit and Śukadeva Gosvāmī, for the sages believed that the talks between Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit must have been as important as the talks between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. As everyone is still eager to learn the subject of Bhagavad-gītā in order to become perfectly enlightened, Vidura was similarly eager to learn from the great sage Maitreya about the talks between Lord Śiva and the Pracetās.
FAQs
It records Vidura’s request to the sage to explain how the Pracetās met Lord Śiva and what Śiva, pleased with them, spoke—setting the stage for Śiva’s devotional instructions.
Because the meeting leads to Lord Śiva’s significant teachings and blessings for the Pracetās, and Vidura wants the account explained clearly and with spiritual purpose.
It emphasizes sincere inquiry: asking qualified teachers to explain sacred events and teachings ‘arthavat’—in a way that is meaningful and transformative, not merely informational.