Thou
tellest me again that Vyasa is the son of Narayana. I ask, was it in some
former birth that Vyasa of immeasurable energy had sprung from Narayana?
O thou of great intelligence, do tell me of that birth of Vyasa which was
due to Narayana!"
Vaisampayana said, "Desirous of understanding the meaning of the Srutis,
my preceptor, that ocean of penances, who is exceedingly devoted to the
observance of all scriptural duties and the acquisition of knowledge,
dwelt for some time in a particular region of the Himavat mountains.
Endued with great intelligence, he became fatigued with his penances in
consequence of the great strain on his energies occasioned by the
composition of the Mahabharata. At that time, Sumanta and Jaimini and
Paila of firm vows and myself numbering the fourth, and Suka his own son,
attended on him. All of us, O king, in view of the fatigue our preceptor
felt, waited dutifully upon him, engaged in doing all that was necessary
for dispelling that fatigue of his. Surrounded by these disciples of his,
Vyasa shone in beauty on the breast of the Himavat mountains like the
Lord of all the ghostly beings, viz., Mahadeva, in the midst of those
ghostly attendants of his. Having recapitulated the Vedas with all their
branches as also the meanings of all the Verses in the Mahabharata, one
day, with rapt attention, all of us approached our preceptor who, having
controlled his senses, was at time rapt up in thought. Availing ourselves
of an interval in the conversation, we asked that foremost of regenerate
persons to expound to us the meanings of the Vedas and the Verses in the
Mahabharata and narrate to us the incidents as well of his own birth from
Narayana.
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