Shloka 186

Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)

Devanagari script

कृष्णद्वैपायनो व्यासो वेदव्यासो महानृषि: । अब मैं प्रसन्नतापूर्वक तुम्हारे प्रश्नका उत्तर देता हूँ। पूर्वकालमें मेरे पूछनेपर वेदोंका विस्तार करनेवाले गुरुदेव महर्षि श्रीकृष्णद्वैपायन व्यासने जो कुछ बताया था

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: Kṛṣṇadvaipāyano Vyāso Vedavyāso mahān ṛṣiḥ. Atha ahaṃ prasannatāpūrvakaṃ tava praśnasya uttaraṃ dadāmi; pūrvakāle mama pṛṣṭe Veda-vistāra-kartā gurudevo maharṣiḥ Śrī-Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana-Vyāsaḥ yad avadat, tad eva te vakṣyāmi.

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyana Vyāsa—Veda-Vyāsa, the great seer. Now, with a clear and pleased mind, I will answer your question. What my revered teacher, the sage Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyana Vyāsa—he who expanded and arranged the Vedas—once told me when I asked him in former times, that very teaching I shall now relate to you.”

Word by Word

• {'Vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'Kṛṣṇadvaipāyanaḥ': 'Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa’s patronymic/epithet)', 'Vyāsaḥ': 'Vyāsa

• the arranger/compiler (of Vedic and epic tradition)', 'Vedavyāsaḥ': 'Veda-Vyāsa

• the one who systematized/expanded the Vedas', 'mahān ṛṣiḥ': 'a great seer', 'prasannatāpūrvakam': 'with serenity/pleasure

• in a composed and gracious manner', 'praśna': 'question

• inquiry', 'uttara': 'answer

• response', 'pūrvakāle': 'in former times', 'pṛṣṭe': 'when (I was) asked / when (I) asked (contextual: ‘when I asked’)', 'gurudevaḥ': 'revered teacher', 'maharṣiḥ': 'great sage', 'yad avadat': 'what he said', 'tad eva': 'that very (same)', 'vakṣyāmi': 'I shall tell/declare'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyana Vyāsa (Veda-Vyāsa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds ethical authority and reliability in instruction: Vaiśampāyana answers not as personal opinion but as faithfully transmitted wisdom received from his guru Vyāsa, the recognized arranger of the Vedas. It emphasizes humility, lineage-based learning, and the duty to convey teachings accurately.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana begins a response to a question by invoking Vyāsa’s stature and stating that he will repeat what Vyāsa previously taught him. This functions as a narrative bridge, legitimizing the forthcoming discourse in Śānti Parva through the guru-disciple chain.