Shloka 24
Nāgendra–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Praśna-vidhi and Dharmic Approach on the Gomatī Riverbank
पूर्वमेव च पद्मस्य पत्रे सूर्याशुसप्र भे । नारायणकृतौ बिन्दू अपामास्तां गुणोत्तरो
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | pūrvam eva ca padmasya patre sūryāṃśu-saprabhe | nārāyaṇa-kṛtau bindū apām āstāṃ guṇottarau ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：在那莲叶之上——早已如日光般灿然——自最初起，因那罗延之作用，已有水滴安置其上。那些水滴象征着诸“古那”（guṇa）在造化中显现，并昭示其出现背后有神圣的安排与秩序。
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the guṇas as part of an ordered cosmic unfolding under divine governance: even the earliest manifestations (symbolized by water-drops on a radiant lotus leaf) occur through Nārāyaṇa’s agency, implying that moral and spiritual discernment requires understanding how rajas and tamas arise and are to be regulated rather than blindly followed.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a primordial scene involving a radiant lotus leaf and water-drops placed there by Nārāyaṇa. The imagery functions as a symbolic account of creation and the appearance of the guṇa-principles, setting up a philosophical explanation within Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse.