Shloka 23
Adhyāya 60: Devagaṇa–Ṛṣi–Prajāpatīnāṃ Sambhavaḥ
Origins of Divine Classes, Sages, and Progenitors
गुरोर्वचनमाज्ञाय स तु विप्रर्षभस्तदा । आचचक्षे तत: सर्वमितिहासं पुरातनम्,उस समय गुरुदेव व्यासजीकी यह आज्ञा पाकर विप्रवर वैशम्पायनने राजा जनमेजय, सभासदगण तथा अन्य सब भूपालोंसे कौरव-पाण्डवोंमें जिस प्रकार फूट पड़ी और उनका सर्वनाश हुआ, वह सब पुरातन इतिहास कहना प्रारम्भ किया
guror vacanam ājñāya sa tu viprarṣabhas tadā | ācacakṣe tataḥ sarvam itihāsaṃ purātanam ||
Having understood and accepted his teacher’s command, that foremost of Brahmins then began to recount in full the ancient history—how dissension arose between the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas and how it led to their complete destruction.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the authority of the guru’s instruction and the responsibility of the learned to transmit tradition faithfully. By presenting the epic as an ‘ancient history’ of fratricidal division and ruin, it implicitly teaches rulers and assemblies to guard against factionalism, pride, and adharma, which culminate in collective destruction.
Vyāsa’s directive has been received; therefore Vaiśampāyana, praised as the foremost of Brahmins, begins narrating the complete ancient account to King Janamejaya and the gathered audience—setting in motion the Mahābhārata’s central story of the Kaurava–Pāṇḍava conflict and its catastrophic end.