श्रीशुक उवाच । स्वयमेव मया पूर्वमेतज्ज्ञातं विवेकतः । एतदेव च पृष्टेन पित्रा मे समुदाहृतम् ॥ ३१ ॥
śrīśuka uvāca | svayamēva mayā pūrvamētajjñātaṁ vivēkataḥ | ētadēva ca pṛṣṭēna pitrā mē samudāhṛtam || 31 ||
Translation
Śrī Śuka said: I knew this myself before, through discernment; and when I asked my father, he told me just this.
Word by word
- śrīśuka
- Śrī Śuka
- uvāca
- said
- svayam
- myself
- ēva
- indeed
- mayā
- I
- pūrvam
- before
- ētaj
- (etat) this
- jñātaṁ
- knew
- vivēkataḥ
- through discernment
- ētad
- (etat) this
- ca
- and
- pṛṣṭēna
- when asked
- pitrā
- father
- mē
- my
- samudāhṛtam
- told
Meaning
Śuka now says openly what he had kept to himself: he had found this truth by his own discernment, and his father had told him the same. The commentary adds that Vyāsa taught it with many examples and reasons. This is a confession. Śuka admits that he heard the answer once and did not accept it. To say so before the king is itself a sign of the change in him.