Shloka 186

Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)

Devanagari script

कृष्णद्वैपायनो व्यासो वेदव्यासो महानृषि: । अब मैं प्रसन्नतापूर्वक तुम्हारे प्रश्नका उत्तर देता हूँ। पूर्वकालमें मेरे पूछनेपर वेदोंका विस्तार करनेवाले गुरुदेव महर्षि श्रीकृष्णद्वैपायन व्यासने जो कुछ बताया था, वही मैं तुमसे कहूँगा

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: Kṛṣṇadvaipāyano Vyāso Vedavyāso mahān ṛṣiḥ. Atha ahaṃ prasannatāpūrvakaṃ tava praśnasya uttaraṃ dadāmi; pūrvakāle mama pṛṣṭe Veda-vistāra-kartā gurudevo maharṣiḥ Śrī-Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana-Vyāsaḥ yad avadat, tad eva te vakṣyāmi.

Translation

കൃഷ്ണദ്വൈപായന വ്യാസൻ—വേദവ്യാസൻ—മഹർഷിയാണ്. ഇപ്പോൾ ഞാൻ പ്രസന്നചിത്തത്തോടെ നിന്റെ ചോദ്യത്തിന് ഉത്തരം പറയുന്നു. പൂർവകാലത്ത് ഞാൻ ചോദിച്ചപ്പോൾ, വേദങ്ങളെ വിപുലീകരിച്ച് ക്രമീകരിച്ച ഗുരുദേവൻ മഹർഷി ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണദ്വൈപായന വ്യാസൻ എന്നോട് പറഞ്ഞതുതന്നെ, അതുതന്നെ ഞാൻ നിന്നോട് പറയുന്നു.

Word by Word

• {'Vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'Kṛṣṇadvaipāyanaḥ': 'Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa’s patronymic/epithet)', 'Vyāsaḥ': 'Vyāsa

• the arranger/compiler (of Vedic and epic tradition)', 'Vedavyāsaḥ': 'Veda-Vyāsa

• the one who systematized/expanded the Vedas', 'mahān ṛṣiḥ': 'a great seer', 'prasannatāpūrvakam': 'with serenity/pleasure

• in a composed and gracious manner', 'praśna': 'question

• inquiry', 'uttara': 'answer

• response', 'pūrvakāle': 'in former times', 'pṛṣṭe': 'when (I was) asked / when (I) asked (contextual: ‘when I asked’)', 'gurudevaḥ': 'revered teacher', 'maharṣiḥ': 'great sage', 'yad avadat': 'what he said', 'tad eva': 'that very (same)', 'vakṣyāmi': 'I shall tell/declare'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyana Vyāsa (Veda-Vyāsa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds ethical authority and reliability in instruction: Vaiśampāyana answers not as personal opinion but as faithfully transmitted wisdom received from his guru Vyāsa, the recognized arranger of the Vedas. It emphasizes humility, lineage-based learning, and the duty to convey teachings accurately.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana begins a response to a question by invoking Vyāsa’s stature and stating that he will repeat what Vyāsa previously taught him. This functions as a narrative bridge, legitimizing the forthcoming discourse in Śānti Parva through the guru-disciple chain.