Shloka 17
Adhyāya 9: Pratiśruta-Dāna
The Duty to Fulfill Promised Gifts
श्रुतश्चापि मया भूय: कृष्णस्यापि विशाम्पते | कथां कथयत: पूर्व ब्राह्मणं प्रति पाण्डव
śrutaś cāpi mayā bhūyaḥ kṛṣṇasyāpi viśāmpate | kathāṃ kathayataḥ pūrvaṃ brāhmaṇaṃ prati pāṇḍava prajānātha pāṇḍunandana ||
Bhishma dijo: «Oh señor de los pueblos, oh Pāṇḍava, oh hijo de Pāṇḍu: este mismo asunto lo he oído también de nuevo de Kṛṣṇa en persona, cuando tiempo atrás narraba a un brahmán un relato semejante. Por ello, lo que refiero no es simple rumor, sino una enseñanza confirmada por palabra autorizada».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes the reliability of dharma-instruction by grounding it in authoritative transmission: he has heard the same teaching directly from Kṛṣṇa, who earlier taught it to a brāhmaṇa. The verse highlights that ethical guidance is strengthened when confirmed by respected sources and repeated in proper contexts.
Bhīṣma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anuśāsana Parva, introduces or reinforces a teaching by stating that he previously heard this very discourse from Kṛṣṇa while Kṛṣṇa was narrating a similar story to a brāhmaṇa. It functions as a credentialing preface to the instruction that follows.