Shloka 29
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
(पुण्ये हिमवत: पादे मध्ये गिरिगुहालये । विशोध्य देहं धर्मात्मा दर्भसंस्तरमाश्रित: ।। शुचि: सनियमो व्यास: शान्तात्मा तपसि स्थित: । भारतस्येतिहासस्य धर्मेणान्वीक्ष्य तां गतिम् ।। प्रविश्य योगं ज्ञानेन सो5पश्यत् सर्वमन्ततः ।) हिमालयकी पवित्र तलहटीमें पर्वतीय गुफाके भीतर धर्मात्मा व्यासजी स्नानादिसे शरीर-शुद्धि करके पवित्र हो कुशका आसन बिछाकर बैठे थे। उस समय नियमपालनपूर्वक शान्तचित्त हो वे तपस्यामें संलग्न थे। ध्यानयोगमें स्थित हो उन्होंने धर्मपूर्वक महाभारत- इतिहासके स्वरूपका विचार करके ज्ञानदृष्टिद्वारा आदिसे अन्ततक सब कुछ प्रत्यक्षकी भाँति देखा (और इस ग्रन्थका निर्माण किया)। निष्प्रभेडस्मिन् निरालोके सर्वतस्तमसावृते । बृहदण्डम भूदेक॑ प्रजानां बीजमव्ययम्,सृष्टिके प्रारम्भमें जब यहाँ वस्तुविशेष या नामरूप आदिका भान नहीं होता था, प्रकाशका कहीं नाम नहीं था, सर्वत्र अन्धकार-ही-अन्धकार छा रहा था, उस समय एक बहुत बड़ा अण्ड प्रकट हुआ, जो सम्पूर्ण प्रजाओंका अविनाशी बीज था
puṇye himavataḥ pāde madhye giriguhālaye | viśodhya dehaṃ dharmātmā darbhasaṃstaram āśritaḥ || śuciḥ sa-niyamo vyāsaḥ śāntātmā tapasi sthitaḥ | bhāratasyetihāsasya dharmeṇānvīkṣya tāṃ gatim || praviśya yogaṃ jñānena so 'paśyat sarvam antataḥ | niṣprabhe 'smin nirāloke sarvatas tamasāvṛte | bṛhad aṇḍam abhūd ekaṃ prajānāṃ bījam avyayam ||
On the holy slopes of Himavat, within a mountain cave, the righteous Vyāsa purified his body and, seated upon a spread of darbha grass, remained pure and disciplined. With a tranquil mind, established in austerity, he reflected—according to dharma—on the course and meaning of the Bhārata history. Entering yogic concentration through knowledge, he beheld everything from beginning to end as if directly before his eyes. And in that primeval time, when this world was without radiance, without distinct forms, and covered on all sides by darkness, there appeared a single vast cosmic egg—the imperishable seed of all beings.
Educational Q&A
The passage presents ethical authorship: sacred history should be approached through purity, discipline, austerity, and a dharma-guided intellect. Vyāsa’s ‘seeing’ is framed as yogic knowledge—suggesting that truthful narration and moral insight arise from inner restraint and contemplative clarity.
Vyāsa, seated in a Himalayan cave on a darbha-grass seat, purifies himself and enters meditative yoga. Through jñāna he comprehends the Bhārata story from beginning to end. The text then shifts to a cosmogonic scene: in primordial darkness a single vast cosmic egg appears as the imperishable seed of all beings.