Shloka 6
आस्तीक-उपाख्यान-प्रस्तावः | Introduction to the Āstīka Narrative
सौतिर्वाच इतिहासमिमं विप्रा: पुराणं परिचक्षते,उग्रश्रवाजीने कहा--शौनकजी! ब्राह्मणलोग इस इतिहासको बहुत पुराना बताते हैं। पहले मेरे पिता लोमहर्षणजीने, जो व्यासजीके मेधावी शिष्य थे, ऋषियोंके पूछनेपर साक्षात् श्रीकृष्णद्वैधायन (व्यास)-के कहे हुए इस इतिहासका नैमिषारण्यवासी ब्राह्मणोंके समुदायमें वर्णन किया था। उन्हींके मुखसे सुनकर मैं भी इसका यथावत् वर्णन करता हूँ
Sautir uvāca: itihāsam imaṁ viprāḥ purāṇaṁ paricakṣate. Ugraśravā uvāca—Śaunaka! brāhmaṇāḥ imam itihāsaṁ atipūrvaṁ vadanti. pūrvaṁ me pitā Lomaharṣaṇaḥ, yo Vyāsasya medhāvī śiṣyaḥ, ṛṣīṇāṁ praśne sati sākṣāt Śrīkṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana-Vyāsena proktam imam itihāsaṁ Naimiṣāraṇya-vāsināṁ brāhmaṇānāṁ samūhe vyājahāra. tasya mukhāt śrutvā aham api asya yathāvat kathanaṁ karomi.
Sauti said: “O Brahmins, this narrative is spoken of as an ancient Purāṇa-like history. O Śaunaka, the Brahmins declare this account to be exceedingly old. Formerly my father Lomaharṣaṇa—an intelligent disciple of Vyāsa—when questioned by the sages, recited in the assembly of the Naimiṣa Forest Brahmins this very history as it was spoken by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa) himself. Having heard it from his mouth, I too now relate it faithfully, in due order.”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the authority of a tradition transmitted through a reliable lineage (guru–śiṣya/reciter lineage): Vyāsa speaks, Lomaharṣaṇa faithfully recites to the sages, and Sauti repeats it accurately. Ethical weight is placed on truthful, orderly transmission (yathāvat) and respect for authentic sources.
Sauti introduces the Mahābhārata as an ancient, Purāṇa-like sacred history. He explains that his father Lomaharṣaṇa, a disciple of Vyāsa, previously narrated this history in the Brahmin assembly at Naimiṣāraṇya when the sages asked; Sauti now recounts the same account as he heard it.