Shloka 13
Śara-śayyā-sthita-bhīṣma-saṃvāda-prastāvaḥ
The Prelude to Questioning Bhīṣma on the Bed of Arrows
प्रव्याहर यदुश्रेष्ठ त्वमग्रे मधुसूदन । त्वं हि नस्तात सर्वेषां सर्वधर्मविदुत्तम:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
pravyāhara yaduśreṣṭha tvam agre madhusūdana |
tvaṃ hi nas tāta sarveṣāṃ sarvadharmavid uttamaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Madhusūdana, best of the Yadus, you should speak first and begin the discourse. For you, dear one, are for all of us the highest knower of every form of dharma.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse establishes Kṛṣṇa as the foremost authority on dharma and models a key ethical posture: when guidance is needed, the community invites the most discerning knower of duty and righteousness to speak first, so that deliberation begins from a sound moral foundation.
In the framing narration attributed to Vaiśampāyana, the speakers urge Śrī Kṛṣṇa—addressed by honorific epithets—to initiate the conversation. The request signals deference and sets the stage for a dharma-centered discourse in the Śānti Parva.