Shloka 5
इन्द्रप्रस्थे महाराज तव सभ्रातृकस्य ह । सभायां चाह वचन तत् सर्व शृणु भारत
indraprasthe mahārāja tava sabhrātṛkasya ha | sabhāyāṃ cāha vacana tat sarvaṃ śṛṇu bhārata ||
Bhīṣma said: “O great king, in Indraprastha—when you were together with your brothers—there was a statement made in the royal assembly. O Bhārata, listen to that entire account.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical instruction through reliable recollection: Bhishma grounds his counsel in a remembered public statement made in a royal assembly, emphasizing that dharma and policy are best understood through attentive listening to authoritative testimony and precedent.
Bhishma begins to recount an earlier incident from Indraprastha, when Yudhishthira was with his brothers in the assembly hall. He invites the king to hear the full account of what was said there, setting up a longer teaching or example.