Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 16
Lord Śiva Instructs the Pracetās (Śiva-stuti and the Path of Bhakti)
विदुर उवाच प्रचेतसां गिरित्रेण यथासीत्पथि सङ्गम: । यदुताह हर: प्रीतस्तन्नो ब्रह्मन् वदार्थवत् ॥ १६ ॥
vidura uvāca pracetasāṁ giritreṇa yathāsīt pathi saṅgamaḥ yad utāha haraḥ prītas tan no brahman vadārthavat
维杜拉问道：尊贵的婆罗门啊，普拉切塔斯为何在途中得遇吉利特拉（湿婆）？哈拉如何大悦，又赐予何等教诲？愿您慈悲，为我详述这有益之谈。
Whenever there are some important talks between a devotee and the Lord or between exalted devotees, one should be very much curious to hear them. At the meeting of Naimiṣāraṇya, where Sūta Gosvāmī spoke Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to all the great sages, Sūta Gosvāmī was also asked about the talks between Mahārāja Parīkṣit and Śukadeva Gosvāmī, for the sages believed that the talks between Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit must have been as important as the talks between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. As everyone is still eager to learn the subject of Bhagavad-gītā in order to become perfectly enlightened, Vidura was similarly eager to learn from the great sage Maitreya about the talks between Lord Śiva and the Pracetās.
FAQs
It records Vidura’s request to the sage to explain how the Pracetās met Lord Śiva and what Śiva, pleased with them, spoke—setting the stage for Śiva’s devotional instructions.
Because the meeting leads to Lord Śiva’s significant teachings and blessings for the Pracetās, and Vidura wants the account explained clearly and with spiritual purpose.
It emphasizes sincere inquiry: asking qualified teachers to explain sacred events and teachings ‘arthavat’—in a way that is meaningful and transformative, not merely informational.