Shloka 1
Kṛṣṇa’s Dhyāna and the Prompt to Question Bhīṣma (कृष्णध्यानं भीष्मप्रश्नप्रेरणा च)
/ भीकम (2 अमान षट्चत्वारिशो5 ध्याय: युधिष्ठिर और श्रीकृष्णका संवाद
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: kim idaṁ paramāścaryaṁ dhyāyasy amita-vikrama? kaccil loka-trayasyāsya svasti loka-parāyaṇa?
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “What is this most astonishing thing—that you are absorbed in contemplation, O one of immeasurable prowess? O refuge of the worlds, is all well with this threefold universe?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A righteous ruler’s first impulse is concern for universal welfare (svasti) and the stability of cosmic order; Yudhiṣṭhira reads Kṛṣṇa’s inward absorption as significant and immediately asks whether the three worlds are safe, reflecting dharmic vigilance and responsibility.
At the opening of this chapter in Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira notices Kṛṣṇa in deep contemplation and, struck by wonder, questions him—addressing him with epithets of supreme power and refuge—asking what he is meditating on and whether all is well in the three worlds.