Shloka 10
Dyūta-kathā-praśnaḥ — Inquiry into the Dice-Game Calamity
पितामह! देवर्षि भगवान् नारदने स्वर्ग, अन्तरिक्ष और पृथ्वीविषयक तीन प्रकारके उत्पात बताये हैं। क्या शिशुपालके मारे जानेसे वे महान् उत्पात शान्त हो गये? ।।
pitāmaha! devarṣi bhagavān nāradena svarga-antarikṣa-pṛthivī-viṣayakās trividha utpātāḥ kathitāḥ. kiṃ śiśupālasya māraṇena te mahānto 'tpātāḥ śāntā abhavan? || vaiśampāyana uvāca janamejaya! rājñas tu vacanaṃ śrutvā parāśara-sutaḥ prabhuḥ kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyano vyāsa idaṃ vacanam abravīt ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Janamejaya! Raja Yudhiṣṭhira bertanya: ‘Wahai Datukanda, resi dewa Nārada telah menerangkan tiga jenis alamat buruk yang berkaitan dengan langit, ruang antara, dan bumi. Setelah Śiśupāla dibunuh, adakah alamat besar itu telah reda?’ Mendengar kata-kata raja, Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyana Vyāsa yang perkasa, putera Parāśara, menjawab demikian.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic habit of inquiry: rulers and elders assess extraordinary events (utpātas) not as mere spectacle but as signals about the state of cosmic and social order. It also underscores reliance on authoritative sages (Nārada, Vyāsa) for interpreting such signs responsibly.
Within the frame narration, Vaiśampāyana reports that Yudhiṣṭhira asks Bhīṣma whether the threefold portents described by Nārada—affecting heaven, the mid-region, and earth—were calmed after Śiśupāla’s death. Vyāsa then begins his response, as introduced by Vaiśampāyana.