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) disse: “Vim até aqui depois de ouvir aquelas narrativas do Mahābhārata—ricas em sentidos maravilhosos—recitadas na devida ordem ritual por Vaiśampāyana no sacrifício das serpentes do rei Janamejaya, filho do sábio régio Parīkṣit; essa obra supremamente meritória composta por 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.