Shloka 1
Arjuna’s request to Krishna and the opening of the Kāśyapa–Brāhmaṇa mokṣa discourse (Āśvamedhika-parva 16)
/ (अनुगीतापर्व) षोडशो<ध्याय: अर्जुनका श्रीकृष्णसे गीताका विषय पूछना और श्रीकृष्णका अर्जुनसे सिद्ध
Janamejaya uvāca | sabhāyāṁ vasatos tatra nihatya ārīn mahātmanoḥ | keśavārjunayoḥ kā nu kathā samabhavad dvija ||
Janamejaya dit : « Ô deux-fois-né, après que ces deux héros magnanimes — Keśava et Arjuna — eurent abattu leurs ennemis et demeuraient là, dans la salle d’assemblée, quelle conversation donc s’éleva entre eux ? »
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: after victory and the destruction of enemies, what worthy discourse should guide conduct. It signals a turn from battlefield action to ethical reflection through dialogue.
King Janamejaya asks the narrator (addressed as dvija) to recount what Kṛṣṇa (Keśava) and Arjuna discussed while seated in the assembly hall after the enemies had been slain.