Śaunaka, the great householder, approached Aṅgiras with due reverence and asked: O venerable one, what is that by knowing which all this becomes known?

Here is posed the fundamental question of Indian philosophy: the search for a unifying knowledge that dissolves the fragmentation of experience.

Mahāśāla — great householder, master of a great house. Śaunaka is not a renunciant or a novice; he is one who has fulfilled his worldly responsibilities and now seeks supreme wisdom. The spiritual quest does not require abandonment of the world, but maturity.

Vidbivad upasannaḥ — approaching according to the rules. There is a correct way to seek knowledge: with humility, preparation, respect. It is not about consuming information but receiving transmission.

Kasmin nu… sarvam idaṃ vijñātaṃ bhavatīti — what is that by knowing which all this becomes known? This question points to Brahman, the ultimate reality whose knowledge illuminates all particular things. It is not knowing more things, but knowing the nature of knowledge itself.

The yogī seeks that spark that ignites all lamps, the principle that explains all phenomena.