Shloka 2
Baka Dālbhya at Avakīrṇa-tīrtha: Rāṣṭra-kṣaya and Release through Prasāda (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 40)
देवापिश्न कथं ब्रह्मन् विश्वामित्रश्न सत्तम । तन्ममाचक्ष्व भगवन् परं कौतूहलं हि मे,जनमेजयने पूछा--्रह्मन! मुनिश्रेष्ठ! आ्शिषिणने वहाँ किस प्रकार बड़ी भारी तपस्या की थी तथा सिन्धुद्वीप, देवापि और विश्वामित्रजीने किस तरह ब्राह्मणत्व प्राप्त किया था? भगवन्! यह सब मुझे बताइये। इसे जाननेके लिये मेरे मनमें बड़ी भारी उत्सुकता है
Janamejaya uvāca | devāpiś ca kathaṃ brahman viśvāmitraś ca sattama | tan mamācakṣva bhagavan paraṃ kautūhalaṃ hi me ||
阇那梅阇耶说道：“婆罗门啊，善者之最胜者啊！提婆阿毗（Devāpi）如何成为那般？毗湿瓦密多罗（Viśvāmitra）又如何成为那般？尊者请为我开示；我心中充满至高的好奇。”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the dharmic value of sincere inquiry (jijñāsā): moral and spiritual understanding grows through respectful questioning of the wise, especially about how merit and discipline (tapas) can transform one’s status and character.
King Janamejaya addresses the sage-narrator with intense curiosity, asking for an explanation of Devāpi and Viśvāmitra—figures linked with extraordinary ascetic effort and attainment—so that their life-stories and the means of their spiritual standing may be recounted.