Shloka 4
इमां च त्वं नरव्याप्र श्रोतुमहसि मे कथाम् । पुरा शक्रस्य कथितां नारदेन महर्षिणा,पुरुषसिंह! इस विषयमें मैं तुम्हें एक कथा सुना रहा हूँ, उसे सुनो। पूर्वकालमें महर्षि नारदने इन्द्रको यह कथा सुनायी थी
imāṁ ca tvaṁ naravyāghra śrotum arhasi me kathām | purā śakrasya kathitāṁ nāradena maharṣiṇā ||
O tiger among men, you should also listen to this tale of mine. Long ago, the great sage Nārada narrated this very story to Śakra (Indra).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse establishes the authority and ethical weight of the forthcoming instruction by tracing it to a revered lineage of transmission: a great sage (Nārada) taught it to Indra, and Bhīṣma now passes it on. In dharma-literature, such provenance signals that the teaching is time-tested and worthy of attentive listening.
Bhīṣma addresses his listener as 'naravyāghra' and introduces a new episode: he is about to recount a story that Nārada once narrated to Indra. This functions as a framing device before the main tale begins.