Shloka 41
वैशम्पायन उवाच तथा वदति वार्ष्णेये धर्मराजे च भारत । अथ पश्चात् तपोवृद्धों बहुवर्षमहस्रधूकू
vaiśampāyana uvāca tathā vadati vārṣṇeye dharmarāje ca bhārata | atha paścāt tapovṛddho bahuvarṣasahasradhūkū ||
Vaiśampāyana said: While Vārṣṇeya (Kṛṣṇa) spoke thus, and while Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira) listened, O Bhārata, thereupon there appeared one made great by austerity—one who had endured and practiced tapas for many thousands of years.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical authority of tapas: spiritual discipline and long-term austerity are presented as sources of maturity and credibility, preparing the ground for counsel or a consequential encounter.
It is a transition: as Kṛṣṇa (Vārṣṇeya) speaks and Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja) listens, the narration shifts to what happens next—an ascetic, renowned for immense austerities over thousands of years, comes into the scene (the exact descriptor is unclear due to the transmitted reading).