Shloka 4
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
निष्पाप नरेश! पहलेकी बात है, मैंने बड़ी भारी तपस्या करके तपनेवाले भगवान् सूर्यकी आराधना की थी। उससे प्रसन्न होकर भगवान् सूर्यने मुझसे कहा-- ।।
niṣpāpa nareśa! pūrvavṛttānto 'yam—mayā mahātapasā tapyamānena bhagavān sūrya ārādhitaḥ. tena prasannena bhagavatā sūryeṇa mama proktam—“varaṁ vṛṇīṣva viprarṣe yad iṣṭaṁ te sudurlabham; tat te dāsyāmi prītātmā, matprasādo hi durlabhaḥ.”
याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच— निष्पाप नरेश! पुरावृत्तमिदं शृणु। अहं कदाचिद् घोरं तपः कृत्वा तपस्विनां पूज्यं देवं सूर्यं समाराधितवान्। स तेन तपसा प्रीतात्मा मामुवाच— “वरं वृणीष्व ब्रह्मर्षे यदिष्टं ते सुदुर्लभम्। तत् ते दास्यामि प्रीतात्मा, मत्प्रसादो हि दुर्लभः।”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sincere tapas (disciplined austerity) and devoted worship can draw divine favor; yet such grace is portrayed as rare and therefore ethically weighty—one should choose boons responsibly, aligned with dharma.
Yājñavalkya recounts a past episode to the king: after intense austerities he worshipped the Sun-god, who, pleased, invites him to ask for any boon—even something very difficult—emphasizing the rarity of the Sun’s grace.