Shloka 27
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
चतुर्विशांस्ततो5पृच्छत् प्रश्नान् वेदस्य पार्थिव
caturviṁśāṁs tato 'pṛcchat praśnān vedasya pārthiva, pṛthvīnātha! tatpaścāt ānvīkṣikī-vidyā-sambandhe pañcaviṁśaṁ praśnam upasthāpayan; te caturviṁśati-praśnāḥ—1. viśvā kim? 2. aviśvaṁ kim? 3. aśvā kim? 4. aśvaḥ kaḥ? 5. mitraḥ kaḥ? 6. varuṇaḥ kaḥ?
Wika ni Yājñavalkya: “O hari, panginoon ng lupa! Pagkaraan, nagharap siya ng dalawampu’t apat na tanong tungkol sa Veda. Pagkatapos ay itinaas niya ang ikadalawampu’t limang tanong tungkol sa disiplina ng makatwirang pagsisiyasat (ānvīkṣikī). Ang dalawampu’t apat na tanong na Vedic ay nagsisimula nang ganito: ‘Ano ang viśvā? Ano ang aviśva? Ano ang aśvā? Ano ang aśva? Sino si Mitra? Sino si Varuṇa?’”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames dharma-oriented learning as disciplined inquiry: Vedic terms and deities are not merely named but examined through precise questions, and this is complemented by ānvīkṣikī—critical reflection that tests meanings and principles.
Yājñavalkya reports that a king (addressed as ‘lord of the earth’) proceeds to question him: first with twenty-four definitional questions about Vedic concepts, and then with a twenty-fifth question about the science of rational inquiry; the text begins listing the Vedic questions (viśvā/aviśva, aśvā/aśva, Mitra, Varuṇa, etc.).