Shloka 20

अध्याय ३३७ — ज्ञानमार्ग-वैविध्यप्रश्नः तथा व्यासस्य नारायणोद्भवकथा

Systems of Knowledge and Vyāsa’s Nārāyaṇa-Origin

Devanagari script

एकततद्वितत्रिताश्नोचुस्ततश्चित्रशिखण्डिन:,तदनन्तर एकत, द्वित और त्रितने तथा चित्रशिखण्डी नामवाले ऋषियोंने उनसे कहा --“बृहस्पते! हमलोग ब्रह्माजीके मानसपुत्र कहलाते हैं। एक बार अपने कल्याणकी इच्छासे हम सबने उत्तर दिशाकी यात्रा की

Transliteration

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 …”

Translation

భీష్ముడు పలికెను—అనంతరం ఏకత, ద్విత, త్రిత మరియు చిత్రశిఖండీ అనే ఋషులు అతనితో ఇలా అన్నారు—“ఓ బృహస్పతీ! మేము బ్రహ్మదేవుని మానసపుత్రులమని ప్రసిద్ధులం. ఒకసారి మా ఆత్మకల్యాణాన్ని కోరుకొని మేమందరం ఉత్తర దిశ వైపు ప్రయాణమయ్యాము …”

Word by Word

एकःone (sage named Eka)

तत्that (statement/thing)

द्वितःDvita (a sage)

त्रितःTrita (a sage)

आश्नोचुःthey attained / reached

ततःthen; thereafter

चित्रशिखण्डिनःthe sages named Citrashikhaṇḍin (having variegated crests/plumes)

ततःthen

चand

एकःEka (one, the sage)

तत्that

द्वितःDvita

चand

त्रितःTrita

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Brihaspati

Brahma

Ekata

Dvita

Trita

Chitrashikhandin

Uttara-disha (the northern direction)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.