Shloka 103
उपाख्यानैर्विना तावद् भारतं प्रोच्यते बुधैः । ततो<प्यर्धशतं भूय: संक्षेपं कृतवानृषि:,तदनन्तर व्यासजीने उपाख्यानभागको छोड़कर चौबीस हजार श्लोकोंकी भारतसंहिता बनायी; जिसे विद्वान् पुरुष भारत कहते हैं। इसके पश्चात् महर्षिने पुनः पर्वसहित ग्रन्थमें वर्णित वृत्तान्तोंकी अनुक्रमणिका (सूची)-का एक संक्षिप्त अध्याय बनाया, जिसमें केवल डेढ़ सौ श्लोक हैं। व्यासजीने सबसे पहले अपने पुत्र शुकदेवजीको इस महाभारत-ग्रन्थका अध्ययन कराया
upākhyānair vinā tāvad bhārataṃ procyate budhaiḥ | tato 'py ardhaśataṃ bhūyaḥ saṃkṣepaṃ kṛtavān ṛṣiḥ ||
The wise declare that the work called the Bhārata is first recited without the subsidiary tales (upākhyānas). Thereafter, the sage again composed a further concise summary—amounting to a hundred and fifty verses—serving as an index of the events described in the book together with its divisions (parvans).
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a vast sacred history is preserved through layered forms—full narration, narration without subsidiary episodes, and a further concise synopsis—showing the tradition’s concern for accurate transmission, accessibility, and authoritative structuring of knowledge.
The text describes the Mahābhārata’s recitational and compositional forms: learned people speak of a version recited without embedded tales, and then the sage (Vyāsa) is said to have produced an additional brief compendium of about 150 verses functioning like an index/summary of the parvans and events.