मन्दर-समुद्रमन्थन-वर्णनम् / Description of the Churning of the Ocean with Mount Mandara
सौतिरुवाच आयुष्मन्निदमाख्यानमास्तीकं॑ कथयामि ते । यथाश्रुतं कथयत: सकाशाद् वै पितुर्मया,उग्रश्रवाजीने कहा--आयुष्मन्! मैंने अपने कथावाचक पिताजीके मुखसे यह आस्तीककी कथा, जिस रूपमें सुनी है, उसी प्रकार आपसे कहता हूँ
sautir uvāca āyuṣmann idam ākhyānam āstīkaṃ kathayāmi te | yathāśrutaṃ kathayataḥ sakāśād vai pitur mayā ||
Sauti nói: “Hỡi bậc trường thọ, ta sẽ kể cho ngài nghe truyện về Āstīka. Ta sẽ thuật lại đúng như ta đã nghe từ chính miệng phụ thân ta, khi người đang kể chuyện ấy.”
शौनक उवाच
The verse emphasizes faithful transmission of sacred history: the narrator commits to recounting the Āstīka episode exactly as received from his father, highlighting reliability, humility, and respect for tradition.
Sauti (Ugraśravas) begins the Āstīka-upākhyāna, telling his listeners that he will narrate the story as he heard it from his father while his father was delivering the account.