Shloka 15
कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः
Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma
एतत् प्रत्यक्षत: सर्व पूर्व वृत्तं द्विजोत्तम । तस्मादिच्छाम्यहं श्रोतुं सर्वहेत्वात्मिकां कथाम्,द्विजोत्तम! यह सारा पुरातन इतिहास आपका प्रत्यक्ष देखा हुआ है। इसलिये मैं आपके मुखसे सबके हेतुभूत कालका निरूपण करनेवाली कथा सुनना चाहता हूँ
etat pratyakṣataḥ sarvaṃ pūrva-vṛttaṃ dvijottama | tasmād icchāmy ahaṃ śrotuṃ sarva-hetv-ātmikāṃ kathām ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana dijo: «Oh, el mejor de los nacidos dos veces, todo este relato antiguo te es conocido por experiencia directa. Por ello deseo oír de tu propia boca la narración que esclarece las causas profundas: el tiempo y las circunstancias que llegaron a ser razón de cuanto ocurrió».
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes responsible inquiry: when a trustworthy witness has direct knowledge, one should seek not only the events but also their causes—understanding how time, conditions, and motives generate outcomes. This supports ethical reflection in itihāsa: actions and circumstances have consequences that can be traced and learned from.
Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses a revered Brahmin sage as “dvijottama,” acknowledging that the sage has firsthand knowledge of an ancient sequence of events. He then requests a fuller account—specifically a narrative that lays out the causal background (the reasons and conditions) behind what occurred.