Shloka 27
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
यदवाप्तं च मे पूर्व साम्बहेतो: सुदुष्करम् । यथावद् भगवान् दृष्टो मया पूर्व समाधिना
yad avāptaṃ ca me pūrva sāmbhetoḥ suduṣkaram | yathāvad bhagavān dṛṣṭo mayā pūrva-samādhinā ||
“Ang natamo ko noon—na lubhang napakahirap makamtan—para kay Sāmba; at kung paano, sa pamamagitan ng aking dating samādhi, nasilayan ko ang Mapalad na Panginoon sa wasto at ganap na anyo: isasalaysay ko ngayon ang buong pangyayaring iyon.”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that extraordinary spiritual attainments—true knowledge and direct vision of the divine—are gained through disciplined effort (tapas) and concentrated meditation (samādhi), especially when undertaken for a righteous purpose (here, for Sāmba).
Vāsudeva introduces a forthcoming account: he will narrate how, in the past, he achieved something very hard to obtain for Sāmba’s sake and how he previously beheld the Lord through samādhi—setting up a retrospective episode of austerity and divine encounter.