Shloka 67
अध्याय ३५१ — उञ्छवृत्ति-व्रतसिद्धेः मानुषस्य परमगतिः
Sūrya–Nāga Dialogue on the Perfected Gleaner-Ascetic
मुनिवर अपान्तरतमा वेदोंके आचार्य बताये जाते हैं। यहाँ कुछ लोग उन महर्षिको प्राचीनगर्भ कहते हैं ।। उमापतिर्भूतपति: श्रीकण्ठो ब्रह्मण: सुतः । उक्तवानिदमव्यग्रो ज्ञानं पाशुपतं शिव:
munivara apāntaratamā vedoke ācārya batāye jāte haiṃ | yahāṃ kucha loga una maharṣiko prācīna-garbha kahate haiṃ || umāpatir bhūtapatiḥ śrīkaṇṭho brahmaṇaḥ sutaḥ | uktavān idam avyagro jñānaṃ pāśupataṃ śivaḥ ||
वैशम्पायन उवाच—मुनिवरः अपान्तरतमाः वेदेषु आचार्यवर्य इति प्रसिद्धः; केचिदत्र तान् प्राचीनगर्भान् महर्षीन् इति वदन्ति। उमापतिः भूतपतिः श्रीकण्ठो ब्रह्मणः सुत इति चोच्यते—स एव शिवोऽव्यग्रः पाशुपतं ज्ञानमिदं प्रोवाच।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the authority of sacred knowledge through lineage: revered teachers and ancient seers preserve and transmit doctrine. It also underscores the ethical-spiritual ideal of avyagratā (undistracted steadiness) as the proper condition for imparting and receiving profound teachings such as the Pāśupata knowledge associated with Śiva.
Vaiśampāyana identifies Apāntaratamā as a Veda-linked ācārya and notes a traditional label for very ancient seers. He then introduces Śiva—described by several epithets—as the calm instructor who teaches the Pāśupata doctrine/knowledge, situating the teaching within a revered divine and r̥ṣi transmission.