Shloka 8
अध्याय ३५१ — उञ्छवृत्ति-व्रतसिद्धेः मानुषस्य परमगतिः
Sūrya–Nāga Dialogue on the Perfected Gleaner-Ascetic
किमतः: पूर्वजं जन्म व्यासस्यामिततेजस: । कथयस्वोत्तममते जन्म नारायणोद्धवम्
kim ataḥ pūrvajaṁ janma vyāsasyāmitatejasaḥ | kathayasvottamamate janma nārāyaṇoddhavam, śreṣṭha buddhivāle munīśvara |
Sinabi ni Janamejaya: “Nagkaroon ba ng naunang kapanganakan si Vyāsa na may di-masukat na ningning bago ang buhay na ito? O pinakamainam ang pag-iisip, isalaysay mo—kailan at sa anong paraan nagmula kay Nārāyaṇa ang kapanganakan ni Vyāsa? O pinakadakilang pantas, na may ganap na talino, ipaliwanag mo nang may habag.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dhārmic inquiry: a king seeks the sacred genealogy and divine source of a revered sage, implying that understanding the origins of wisdom-teachers (ṛṣis) supports ethical orientation and faith in the transmission of dharma.
Janamejaya questions the narrator-sage about Vyāsa’s earlier existence and requests a detailed account of how and when Vyāsa’s birth is said to have arisen from Nārāyaṇa, setting up a theological and genealogical explanation within Śānti Parva.