Shloka 11
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
कथिताश्चापि विधिवद् या वैशम्पायनेन वै । श्र॒ुत्वाहं ता विचित्रार्था महाभारतसंश्रिता:,उग्रश्रवाजीने कहा--महर्षियो! चक्रवर्ती सम्राट् महात्मा राजर्षि परीक्षित्-नन्दन जनमेजयके सर्पयज्ञमें उन्हींके पास वैशम्पायनने श्रीकृष्णद्वैपायन व्यासजीके द्वारा निर्मित परम पुण्यमयी चित्र-विचित्र अर्थसे युक्त महाभारतकी जो विविध कथाएँ विधिपूर्वक कही हैं, उन्हें सुनकर मैं आ रहा हूँ
kathitāś cāpi vidhivad yā vaiśampāyanena vai | śrutvāhaṁ tā vicitrārthā mahābhāratasaṁśritāḥ ||
Ugraśravas (Sauti) said: “I have come here after hearing those narratives of the Mahābhārata—rich with wondrous meanings—recited in due ritual order by Vaiśampāyana at the serpent-sacrifice of King Janamejaya, the son of the royal sage Parīkṣit, that supremely meritorious work composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa.”
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical and cultural authority of properly transmitted tradition: sacred history gains legitimacy through disciplined recitation (vidhivat) by qualified teachers in a ritually sanctioned setting, preserving dharma through faithful hearing and retelling.
Sauti introduces himself as one who has heard the Mahābhārata from Vaiśampāyana’s formal recitation at King Janamejaya’s serpent-sacrifice, and he now arrives to recount those same profound, many-layered stories to the assembled sages.