Shloka 17
Adhyāya 9: Pratiśruta-Dāna
The Duty to Fulfill Promised Gifts
श्रुतश्चापि मया भूय: कृष्णस्यापि विशाम्पते | कथां कथयत: पूर्व ब्राह्मणं प्रति पाण्डव
śrutaś cāpi mayā bhūyaḥ kṛṣṇasyāpi viśāmpate | kathāṃ kathayataḥ pūrvaṃ brāhmaṇaṃ prati pāṇḍava prajānātha pāṇḍunandana ||
قال بهيشما: «يا سيّدَ الناس، يا باندافا، يا ابنَ باندو—لقد سمعتُ هذا الأمر بعينه مرةً أخرى من كريشنا نفسه، حين كان من قبل يروي لبراهميٍّ روايةً شبيهة. فليس ما أرويه مجرّد سماعٍ متناقل، بل هو تعليمٌ ثبّتته كلمةٌ ذاتُ سلطان».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes the reliability of dharma-instruction by grounding it in authoritative transmission: he has heard the same teaching directly from Kṛṣṇa, who earlier taught it to a brāhmaṇa. The verse highlights that ethical guidance is strengthened when confirmed by respected sources and repeated in proper contexts.
Bhīṣma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anuśāsana Parva, introduces or reinforces a teaching by stating that he previously heard this very discourse from Kṛṣṇa while Kṛṣṇa was narrating a similar story to a brāhmaṇa. It functions as a credentialing preface to the instruction that follows.