sri-sukah uvaca -- Sukadeva Gosvami said; sarasvatyah -- of the river Sarasvati; tate -- on the bank; rajan -- O King (Parikshit); rishayah -- sages; satram -- a Vedic sacrifice; asata -- were performing; vitarkah -- a disagreement; samabhut -- arose; tesham -- among them; trishu -- among the three; adhiseshu -- chief lords; kah -- who; mahan -- the greatest.

Sukadeva Gosvami said: Once, O King, as a group of sages were performing a Vedic sacrifice on the banks of the Sarasvati River, a controversy arose among them as to which of the three chief deities is supreme.