Viṣṇu-sahasranāma—Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Recitation (विष्णोर्नामसहस्रम्)
यम उवाच रमणीया कथा दिव्या युष्मत्तो या मया श्रुता । श्रूयतां चित्रगुप्तस्य भाषितं मम च प्रियम्
yama uvāca ramaṇīyā kathā divyā yuṣmatto yā mayā śrutā | śrūyatāṁ citraguptasya bhāṣitaṁ mama ca priyam ||
Yama sprach: „Die liebliche, göttliche Erzählung, die ich von euch vernommen habe, ist wahrlich bewundernswert. Nun hört die Worte, die Citragupta gesprochen hat—Worte, die auch mir lieb und angenehm sind.“
यम उवाच
The verse frames ethical accountability: Yama, the judge of deeds, values the divine narrative and directs attention to Citragupta’s testimony, implying that moral actions are recorded and evaluated within a just cosmic order.
Yama responds to a story he has heard from his interlocutors, praises it as delightful and divine, and then transitions the discourse by inviting the listeners to hear Citragupta’s statement, which Yama finds especially agreeable.