Shloka 7
राजन्! जब परशुरामजीके साथ मेरा भयंकर युद्ध हुआ था, उस समय वसुओंने मुझे यह कथा सुनायी थी ।।
rājan! yadā paraśurāmeṇa saha mama bhayaṅkaraṃ yuddham abhavat, tadā vasubhir iyaṃ kathā me śrāvitā. pṛcchamānāya tattvena mayā caivottamā tava. katheyaṃ kathitā puṇyā dharmyā dharmabhṛtāṃ vara, dharmātmāsu śreṣṭha yudhiṣṭhira! idānīṃ yadā tvaṃ paramadharmasaṃbandhe māṃ pṛcchasi, taduttarārthaṃ mayā yathārthataḥ eṣā puṇyamayī dharmasammatā śreṣṭhā kathā tubhyaṃ kathitā.
Bhīṣma sprach: O König! Als ich einst mit Paraśurāma eine furchtbare Schlacht ausfocht, erzählten mir die Vasus diese Geschichte. Und nun, da du—der Edelste unter den Menschen—mich in aufrichtiger Absicht nach dem höchsten Dharma gefragt hast, habe ich dir wahrheitsgetreu diese heilige, dharmagemäße und vortreffliche Erzählung als Antwort vorgetragen, o Yudhiṣṭhira, Bester unter den Rechtschaffenen.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames the teaching as a truthful, dharma-approved sacred narrative given in response to Yudhishthira’s inquiry into the highest dharma—emphasizing that ethical instruction should be grounded in truth (tattva) and transmitted through authoritative tradition.
Bhishma recalls that during his fearsome conflict with Parashurama, the Vasus told him a particular story. He now tells that same story to Yudhishthira as a direct answer to the king’s question about supreme dharma.