Shloka 6
भीष्म उवाच अत्र ते वर्तयिष्येडहमितिहासं पुरातनम् । जगौ यद् भगवान् व्यास: पुत्राय परिपृच्छते,भीष्मजीने कहा--युधिष्ठिर! इस विषयमें भगवान् व्यासने अपने पुत्रके पूछनेपर जो उपदेश दिया था, वही प्राचीन इतिहास मैं दुहराऊँगा
bhīṣma uvāca | atra te vartayiṣye 'ham itihāsaṃ purātanam | jagau yad bhagavān vyāsaḥ putrāya paripṛcchate ||
Bhishma said: “Here I shall recount to you an ancient tradition. It is the old account that the venerable Vyasa once spoke, when his son questioned him—this very teaching I will repeat for you.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the authority of the forthcoming instruction: Bhishma grounds his counsel in an ancient, respected lineage of teaching—Vyasa’s reply to his son’s inquiry—implying that ethical guidance (dharma) is best received through tested tradition and careful questioning.
Bhishma, continuing his discourse to Yudhishthira in the Shanti Parva, announces that he will now narrate an old account: the teaching once spoken by the sage Vyasa when questioned by his son (traditionally identified as Śuka).