Devanagari
श्रीशौनक उवाच
सूत जीव चिरं साधो वद नो वदतां वर ।
तमस्यपारे भ्रमतां नृणां त्वं पारदर्शन: ॥ १ ॥
Verse text
śrī-śaunaka uvāca
sūta jīva ciraṁ sādho
vada no vadatāṁ vara
tamasy apāre bhramatāṁ
nṝṇāṁ tvaṁ pāra-darśanaḥ
Synonyms
śrī
—
śaunakaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śaunaka said
;
sūta
—
O Sūta Gosvāmī
;
jīva
—
may you live
;
ciram
—
for a long time
;
sādho
—
O saint
;
vada
—
please speak
;
naḥ
—
to us
;
vadatām
—
of speakers
;
vara
—
O you who are the best
;
tamasi
—
in darkness
;
apāre
—
unbounded
;
bhramatām
—
who are wandering
;
nṝṇām
—
for men
;
tvam
—
you
;
pāra
—
darśanaḥ — the seer of the opposite shore .
Translation
Śrī Śaunaka said: O Sūta, may you live a long life! O saintly one, best of speakers, please continue speaking to us. Indeed, only you can show men the path out of the ignorance in which they are wandering.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śaunaka said: O Sūta, may you live a long life! O saintly one, best of speakers! Please continue speaking to us. Only you can show men wandering within insurmountable saṁṣara the way to cross beyond it.
In the Eighth Chapter Mārkaṇḍeya performs austerity and the Apasarās attempt to disturb his vows. Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa was mentioned in verse 24 of the last chapter. That brought to Śaunaka’s mind the story of Mārkaṇḍeya. Thus he asks about this now. Tamasi means “in saṁsāra.”
Purport
According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the sages saw that Sūta Gosvāmī was about to end his narration of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
and thus they urged him to first tell the story of Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi.