Shloka 2
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
याज्ञवल्क्यजी कहते हैं--नरेश्वर! तुमने जो मुझसे अव्यक्तमें स्थित परब्रह्मके विषयमें प्रश्न किया है, वह अत्यन्त गूढ़ है। उसके विषयमें ध्यान देकर सुनो ।।
yājñavalkya uvāca— nareśvara! tvayā mayi avyakte sthite parabrahmaṇi viṣaye yaḥ praśnaḥ kṛtaḥ sa atyanta-gūḍhaḥ. tatra dhyātvā śṛṇu. yathā arṣeṇeha vidhinā caratā vanatena ca, mayā ādityād avāptāni yajāṃṣi, mithilādhipa.
耶若婆迦说道：“人中王啊，你所问那安住于未显之中的至上梵（Brahman），实为极其幽深。请你摄心而听。弥提罗之主啊，我将叙说往昔我如何依诸仙所立之法而行持誓戒，俯首谦恭修行，从日神处获得《夜柔》（Yajus，即白夜柔吠陀）诸咒的经过。”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Profound knowledge of the Supreme (Parabrahman in the Unmanifest) is not casual information; it requires disciplined inquiry, inner reflection, and humility. The verse frames spiritual knowledge as something approached through dhyāna (focused attention) and earned through ṛṣi-approved practice (ārṣa-vidhi), not mere argument.
Yājñavalkya responds to the king of Mithilā, acknowledging the depth of the king’s metaphysical question. He then introduces a backstory: he will recount how he previously obtained the Yajus (Śukla-Yajurveda) mantras from the Sun-god by observing vows and following prescribed ascetic discipline with humility.