Shloka 1
Adhyāya 196: Droṇa’s Conciliatory Counsel and Karṇa’s Suspicion of Counsel (मन्त्र-नय-विवादः)
व्यासजीने कहा--पांचालनरेश! पूर्व कालकी बात है, नैमिषारण्य क्षेत्रमें देवता लोग एक यज्ञ कर रहे थे। उस समय वहाँ सूर्यपुत्र यम शामित्र (यज्ञ)-कार्य करते थे
vyāsa uvāca—pāñcālanareśa! pūrva-kālasya vṛttānto 'yam; naimiṣāraṇya-kṣetre devāḥ yajñaṃ kurvanti sma. tasmin kāle tatra sūrya-putraḥ yamaḥ śāmitraḥ (yajña)-kāryaṃ karoti sma.
قال فياسا: «يا ملكَ بانشالا، هذه حكايةٌ من سالف الدهور. في البقعة المقدّسة نيميشَارانيا كان الآلهةُ يقيمون قربانًا. وفي ذلك الحين كان يَما—ابنَ الشمس—حاضرًا هناك، يتولّى السدانة ويؤدّي واجبات الشعيرة القربانية.»
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma through yajña: cosmic and social order is sustained by disciplined ritual duty, and even great deities like Yama are portrayed as performing service within a sacred rite, modeling responsibility and moral order.
Vyasa begins an ancient-time episode addressed to the king of Panchala, setting the scene in Naimisharanya where the gods are conducting a sacrifice, with Yama acting as the officiant performing the yajña-related work.