Shloka 63
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
इतिहासपुराणानामुन्मेषं निर्मितं च यत् । भूतं भव्यं भविष्य॑ च त्रिविधं कालसंज्ञितम्,इस ग्रन्थमें इतिहास और पुराणोंका मन्थन करके उनका प्रशस्त रूप प्रकट किया गया है। भूत, वर्तमान और भविष्यकालकी इन तीनों संज्ञाओंका भी वर्णन हुआ है
itihāsapurāṇānām unmeṣaṁ nirmitaṁ ca yat | bhūtaṁ bhavyaṁ bhaviṣyaṁ ca trividhaṁ kālasaṁjñitam ||
Aquí, tras batir y extraer la esencia de los Itihāsas y los Purāṇas, se ha presentado su forma más noble y esclarecedora. También se explica el tiempo en su triple designación—lo que fue, lo que es y lo que ha de venir—para que el oyente comprenda los sucesos en su debido orden moral y narrativo.
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts the Mahābhārata’s role as a distilled, clarified presentation of the Itihāsa–Purāṇa tradition, and frames its instruction within a comprehensive view of time—past, present, and future—so that dharma can be understood through the full sweep of events.
In the opening of Ādi Parva, the text is being introduced and praised: it is described as a work that brings forth the essence of earlier sacred narratives and organizes knowledge, including the threefold division of time, as part of establishing the epic’s scope and authority.