Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 1
भीष्मस्योत्तरायणप्रतीक्षा तथा युधिष्ठिरागमनम् | Bhīṣma’s uttarāyaṇa moment and Yudhiṣṭhira’s arrival
/ (दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके ३ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ६४ श्लोक हैं) ऑपन--माज बक। अपफि्-"ऋाझ सप्तचत्वारिशर्दाधिकशततमो« ध्याय: वंशपरम्पराका कथन और भगवान् श्रीकृष्णके माहात्म्यका वर्णन ऋषय ऊचु: पिनाकिन् भगनेत्रघ्न सर्वलोकनमस्कृत । माहात्म्यं वासुदेवस्य श्रोतुमिच्छामि शड्कर
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | pinākin bhaganetraghna sarvalokanamaskṛta | māhātmyaṃ vāsudevasya śrotum icchāmaḥ śaṅkara ||
The sages said: “O Śaṅkara, bearer of the Pināka bow—renowned as the destroyer of Bhaga’s eye and revered by all the worlds—we now wish to hear the greatness of Vāsudeva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharmic learning as humble inquiry: revered sages approach a higher authority (Śiva) with respectful epithets and request a discourse on Vāsudeva’s māhātmya, implying that understanding divine excellence is a legitimate and elevating aim of study.
A group of sages address Śiva (Śaṅkara), praising him as Pinākin and as the one associated with the Dakṣa-yajña episode (Bhaga’s eye), and ask to hear the account of Vāsudeva/Kṛṣṇa’s greatness—setting up a section devoted to Kṛṣṇa’s glorification.