SB 1.4.26–27
सर्वात्मकेनापि यदा नातुष्यद्धृदयं ततः ॥ २६ ॥
नातिप्रसीदद्धृदयः सरस्वत्यास्तटे शुचौ ।
वितर्कयन्विविक्तस्थ इदं चोवाच धर्मवित् ॥ २७ ॥
sarvātmakenāpi yadā nātuṣyad dhṛdayaṁ tataḥ
nātiprasīdad-dhṛdayaḥ sarasvatyās taṭe śucau
vitarkayan vivikta-stha idaṁ covāca dharma-vit
Synonyms
dvijāḥ — O twice-born brāhmaṇas; yadā — when; hṛdayam — the heart [the mind (manaḥ);108 or the internal seat of feeling-awareness (antaḥ-karaṇam)109]; sadā pravṛttasya — of [Vyāsa] who was perpetually intent; śreyasi — upon the ultimate good [hite, upakāre]; bhūtānām — of all living beings; evam — in the manner just described [(ukta-prakāreṇa); by dissemination of the Vedas, the Purāṇas, and the Mahābhārata]; na atuṣyat — was yet unfulfilled [santoṣaṁ prasannatā na prāpa]; sarvātmakena api — even by such comprehensive involvement [even by providing such profuse teachings (aneka uddeśavatāpi karmaṇā)110]; tataḥ — then [tadā111]; dharma-vit — [Vyāsa] the ultimate authority regarding dharma; na atiprasīdat hṛdayaḥ — feeling not entirely contented at heart; vivikta-sthaḥ — sat in a secluded place [nirjane deśe sthitaḥ]; śucau — on the sacred [pariśuddhe]; taṭe — bank; sarasvatyāḥ — of the Sarasvatī River; [to focus his attention (cittaikāgryārtham)]; vitarkayan — reflecting [(vicarayan); on the cause of his dissatisfaction (citta-aprasattau hetum)112]; uvāca — he spoke [to himself (sva-gatam)113]; idam ca — as follows [as described in the upcoming verses (vakṣyamānam)].
Translation
O twice-born brāhmaṇas, when Vyāsa, who was perpetually intent upon the ultimate good of all living beings in the manner just described, felt as yet unfulfilled at heart even by such comprehensive involvement, then he, the ultimate authority regarding dharma, feeling not entirely contented at heart, sat in a secluded place on the sacred bank of the Sarasvatī River [to focus his attention]. Reflecting on the cause of his dissatisfaction, he spoke to himself as follows.