Shloka 7
भीष्म उवाच अन्न ते वर्तयिष्यामि इतिहासं पुरातनम् । वसिष्ठस्थ च संवादं करालजनकस्य च,भीष्मजीने कहा--युधिष्ठिर!! इस विषयमें कराल नामक जनक और वसिष्ठका जो संवाद हुआ था, वही प्राचीन इतिहास मैं तुम्हें बतलाऊँगा
bhīṣma uvāca: anna te vartayiṣyāmi itihāsaṃ purātanam | vasiṣṭhasya ca saṃvādaṃ karālajanakasya ca ||
Bhishma said: “Yudhiṣṭhira, I shall recount to you an ancient tradition—the dialogue between Vasiṣṭha and Janaka known as Karāla. This old account I will narrate to illuminate the matter at hand.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames his instruction by invoking an authoritative ancient precedent: a dialogue between a sage (Vasiṣṭha) and a king (Janaka). The verse emphasizes that ethical and dharmic questions are clarified through time-tested narratives and exemplary conversations.
Bhishma tells Yudhiṣṭhira that he will now recount an old itihāsa—specifically the conversation that took place between Vasiṣṭha and Janaka called Karāla—setting up the next section of teaching.