Upanishads · Mahā 2.21
॥
Devanāgarī
आवेदितोऽसौ याष्टीकैर्जनकाय महात्मने द्वारि व्याससुतो राजञ्छुकोऽत्र स्थितवानिति
Transliteration (IAST)
āvedito'sau yāṣṭīkairjanakāya mahātmane dvāri vyāsasuto rājañchuko'tra sthitavāniti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आवेदितः असौ याष्टीकैःāveditaḥ asau yāṣṭīkaiḥhe was announced by the staff-bearers; the wardens with their staves gave notice of him
जनकाय महात्मनेjanakāya mahātmaneto the great-souled Janaka; to Janaka, lofty of soul
द्वारि व्यास-सुतः राजन्dvāri vyāsa-sutaḥ rājanat the gate, O king, the son of Vyāsa; O sovereign, at the gates Vyāsa's son
शुकः अत्र स्थितवान् इतिśukaḥ atra sthitavān itiŚuka stands here; Śuka has taken his stand here
Translation
The staff-bearers announced him to the great-souled Janaka: “O king, at the gate stands the son of Vyāsa, Śuka.”
Version
0675d4f4968d · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A domestic detail — and in it the whole scene to come.
Śuka stands at the gate. He does not enter. The report is passed by the guards, and passed exactly as a visitor is announced: name, parentage, station.
“The son of Vyāsa” — that is how they styled him. It is a recommendation; in the guards' mouths it means: no ordinary man, to be admitted at once.
What happens next will be the direct answer to this recommendation. Janaka will act as though it had not been given.