Shloka 1
Keśava-tattva-kathana
On the Principle of Keśava: Cosmogony and Divine Epithets
युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--पितामह! उस समय विरूपके पूर्वोक्त वचन कहनेपर ब्राह्मण और राजा इक्ष्वाकु उन दोनोंने उसे कया उत्तर दिया, यह मुझे बताइये
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca—Pitāmaha! tadā Virūpakena pūrvoktaṃ vacanaṃ ukte brāhmaṇaś ca rājā Ikṣvākuś ca tau dvāv asmai kiṃ pratyuvācatām? etan me vada.
Yudhishthira said: “Grandfather, when Virupaka had spoken those earlier words, what reply did the Brahmin and King Ikshvaku—those two—give him? Please tell me.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma-inquiry as a disciplined method: Yudhishthira seeks clarity on how wise figures respond to a prior statement, emphasizing that ethical understanding is refined through hearing both claim and counter-reply in a dialogue.
Yudhishthira addresses Bhishma (Pitamaha) and asks him to recount what response the Brahmin and King Ikshvaku gave after Virupaka had spoken earlier—setting up the next part of Bhishma’s instructional story.