Shloka 8

Deva–Asura–Gandharva–Nāga Vaṃśa-kathana

Genealogies and Partial Descents

Devanagari script

मन:सागरसम्भूतां महर्षेर्भावितात्मन: । कथयस्व सतां श्रेष्ठ सर्वरत्नमयीमिमाम्‌,यह कथा पवित्र अन्तःकरणवाले महर्षि वेद-व्यासके हृदयरूपी समुद्रसे प्रकट हुए सब प्रकारके शुभ विचाररूपी रत्नोंसे परिपूर्ण है। साधुशिरोमणे! आप इस कथाको मुझे सुनाइये

Transliteration

manaḥ-sāgara-sambhūtāṃ maharṣer bhāvitātmanaḥ | kathayasva satāṃ śreṣṭha sarva-ratna-mayīm imām ||

Translation

Hỡi bậc tối thượng trong hàng người hiền, xin hãy kể lại thiên truyện thiêng liêng này—sinh ra từ biển cả của tâm trí và trái tim vị đại hiền triết, người đã thanh tịnh và điều phục nội tâm. Nó đầy ắp mọi tư tưởng cát tường như kho châu báu; vì thế, xin hãy thuật cho ta nghe, để tẩy sạch cõi lòng bên trong.

Word by Word

• {'manaḥ': 'mind, inner faculty of thought', 'sāgara': 'ocean, vast reservoir', 'sambhūtā': 'arisen from, originated', 'maharṣi': 'great seer', 'bhāvitātmā': 'one whose self is cultivated/purified

• disciplined in spirit', 'kathayasva': 'please narrate

• tell (imperative, respectful request)', 'satām': 'of the good/virtuous', 'śreṣṭha': 'best, foremost', 'sarva': 'all, every', 'ratna': 'jewel

• figuratively, precious virtues/insights', 'mayī': 'consisting of

• filled with', 'imām': 'this (feminine accusative), referring to the kathā'}

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śaunaka
• Mahārṣi (implicitly Vyāsa in the prose gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sacred history and dharmic instruction should be received from the virtuous and transmitted as a means of inner purification; true teaching is portrayed as arising from a seer’s disciplined, purified consciousness and containing many ‘jewel-like’ auspicious insights.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka respectfully requests the foremost among the virtuous to narrate a holy account, praising it as a jewel-filled story that has arisen from the vast, ocean-like mind/heart of a great seer (understood in context as Vyāsa) and that purifies the listener’s inner faculty.