Shloka 4

Devanagari script

एतं नः संशयं सौते छिन्धि गुहां सनातनम्‌ | त्वया नारायणकथा: श्रुता वै धर्मसंहिता:,सूतनन्दन! यह गूढ़ संदेह हमारे मनमें सदा उठता रहता है, आप इसका निवारण कीजिये; क्योंकि आपने भगवान्‌ नारायणकी बहुत-सी धर्मसंगत कथाएँ सुन रखी हैं

Transliteration

etān naḥ saṁśayaṁ saute chindhi guhāṁ sanātanīm | tvayā nārāyaṇa-kathāḥ śrutā vai dharma-saṁhitāḥ, sūta-nandana ||

Translation

ఓ సౌతే! హృదయమున నిగూఢమై ఉన్న ఈ సనాతన సందేహమును ఛేదించుము. నీవు ధర్మసమ్మతమైన నారాయణకథలను అనేకం వినియున్నావు; కనుక మా ఈ గూఢసంశయాన్ని నివారించుము.

Word by Word

एतम्this (doubt)

नःof us / our

संशयम्doubt

सौतेO Sauta (son of Sūta)

छिन्धिcut / dispel

गुहाम्cave; (fig.) hidden (thing)

सनातनम्eternal / long-standing

त्वयाby you

नारायणकथाःstories of Nārāyaṇa

श्रुताःheard

वैindeed

धर्मसंहिताःin accordance with dharma / containing dharma

सूतनन्दनO son of the Sūta

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śaunaka

Sauti (Ugraśravas)

Nārāyaṇa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A sincere seeker should bring hidden, long-standing doubts into the open and request clarification from a qualified transmitter of dharma; narratives of Nārāyaṇa are presented as ethically authoritative guides capable of resolving such uncertainty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka addresses Sauti and urges him to remove a persistent, inward doubt. He grounds his request in Sauti’s credibility, noting that Sauti has heard many dharma-consistent accounts about Nārāyaṇa and is therefore fit to answer.