Shloka 20
अध्याय ३३७ — ज्ञानमार्ग-वैविध्यप्रश्नः तथा व्यासस्य नारायणोद्भवकथा
Systems of Knowledge and Vyāsa’s Nārāyaṇa-Origin
एकततद्वितत्रिताश्नोचुस्ततश्चित्रशिखण्डिन:
Ekatad-dvita-tritāś coccus tataś citraśikhaṇḍinaḥ; tadanantaraṃ ekata-dvita-tritāś ca citraśikhaṇḍī-nāmāna ṛṣayo 'bruvan— “Bṛhaspate! vayaṃ brahmaṇaḥ mānasaputrāḥ ucyāmahe. Ekadā svakalyāṇecchayā sarve vayam uttaradiśaṃ yātrāṃ kṛtavantaḥ …”
भीष्म उवाच—ततोऽनन्तरम् एकतद्वितत्रिताश्च चित्रशिखण्डी च ऋषयस्तं प्रत्यब्रुवन्—“बृहस्पते! वयं ब्रह्मणो मानसपुत्रा इति प्रसिद्धाः। कदाचित् स्वकल्याणमिच्छन्तः सर्वे वयम् उत्तरां दिशं प्रति यात्रामकुर्म …”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage foregrounds the authority and responsibility of sages: those who claim a lofty spiritual lineage (as Brahmā’s mind-born sons) must pursue genuine inner welfare (kalyāṇa) through disciplined seeking. It sets an ethical tone that true status is validated by sincere spiritual striving.
Within Bhishma’s discourse, a group of sages—Ekata, Dvita, Trita, and Chitrashikhandin—begin addressing Brihaspati. They introduce themselves as Brahmā’s mind-born sons and start recounting an earlier episode in which they traveled north in search of spiritual good, leading into the next part of the story.