Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 23
The Kuru Line, Bhīṣma and Vyāsa; Pāṇḍavas, Parīkṣit, and Future Kings
Chandravaṁśa Continuation
विचित्रवीर्यश्चावरजो नाम्ना चित्राङ्गदो हत: । यस्यां पराशरात् साक्षादवतीर्णो हरे: कला ॥ २१ ॥ वेदगुप्तो मुनि: कृष्णो यतोऽहमिदमध्यगाम् । हित्वा स्वशिष्यान् पैलादीन्भगवान् बादरायण: ॥ २२ ॥ मह्यं पुत्राय शान्ताय परं गुह्यमिदं जगौ । विचित्रवीर्योऽथोवाह काशीराजसुते बलात् ॥ २३ ॥ स्वयंवरादुपानीते अम्बिकाम्बालिके उभे । तयोरासक्तहृदयो गृहीतो यक्ष्मणा मृत: ॥ २४ ॥
vicitravīryaś cāvarajo nāmnā citrāṅgado hataḥ yasyāṁ parāśarāt sākṣād avatīrṇo hareḥ kalā
Citrāṅgada, of whom Vicitravīrya was the younger brother, was killed by a Gandharva who was also named Citrāṅgada. Satyavatī, before her marriage to Śāntanu, gave birth to the master authority of the Vedas, Vyāsadeva, known as Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, who was begotten by Parāśara Muni. From Vyāsadeva, I [Śukadeva Gosvāmī] was born, and from him I studied this great work of literature, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The incarnation of Godhead Vedavyāsa, rejecting his disciples, headed by Paila, instructed Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to me because I was free from all material desires. After Ambikā and Ambālikā, the two daughters of Kāśīrāja, were taken away by force, Vicitravīrya married them, but because he was too attached to these two wives, he had a heart attack and died of tuberculosis.
FAQs
It states that from the sage Parāśara, a direct partial expansion of Hari descended—indicating Vyāsa’s divine origin within the Kuru line.
The verse points to Vyāsa (born from Parāśara) as a partial expansion (kalā) of Lord Hari.
It encourages honoring genuine spiritual teachers and scriptures, seeing divine guidance working through realized transmitters of knowledge.