Shloka 4

भृगुवंश-प्रस्तावना तथा पुलोमा–अग्नि-संवादः

Bhrigu Lineage Preface and the Pulomā–Agni Dialogue

Devanagari script

सौतिर्वाच यदधीतं पुरा सम्यग द्विजश्रेष्ठेमहात्मभि: । वैशम्पायनवित्राग्र्यैस्तैश्ञापि कथितं यथा,सूतपुत्र उग्रश्रवाने कहा--भृगुनन्दन! वैशम्पायन आदि श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मणों और महात्मा द्विजवरोंने पूर्वकालमें जो पुराण भलीभाँति पढ़ा था और उन विद्दवानोंने जिस प्रकार पुराणका वर्णन किया है, वह सब मुझे ज्ञात है

Transliteration

sautir uvāca yad adhītaṃ purā samyag dvijaśreṣṭhair mahātmabhiḥ | vaiśampāyanaviprāgryais taiś cāpi kathitaṃ yathā ||

Translation

苏提说道：“凡是上古时代由最卓越、心怀广大之婆罗门彻底研习的神圣传承，以及那位杰出的婆罗门毗舍波耶那（Vaiśampāyana）依同样方式所叙述的一切——对此我都了然于心。”

Word by Word

सौतिःSauti (son of the sūta; Ugraśravas)

उवाचsaid

यत्that which

अधीतम्studied, learned

पुराformerly, in olden times

सम्यक्properly, correctly

द्विजश्रेष्ठैःby the best of the twice-born (brahmins)

महात्मभिःby great-souled ones

वैशम्पायनवित्राग्र्यैःby the foremost among the disciples of Vaiśampāyana

तैःby them

अपिalso, even

कथितम्told, narrated

यथाas, in the manner that

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sauti (Ugraśravas)

Vaiśampāyana

dvijaśreṣṭha (foremost Brahmins)

mahātmā (great-souled sages)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes trustworthy transmission: sacred knowledge should be learned correctly (samyak) by qualified sages and then narrated faithfully. Ethical authority in the epic rests on disciplined study and accurate reporting, not invention.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sauti, addressing the assembled sages, asserts his reliability by linking his account to an established lineage of learning and recitation—what the great Brahmins studied and what Vaiśampāyana narrated in that same manner.