Shloka 23
मौसलोत्पत्तिः — The Birth of the Musala and the Sages’ Pronouncement
इत्युक्त्वा वासुदेवस्तु चिकीर्ष: सत्यमेव तत् । आज्ञापयामास तदा तीर्थयात्रामरिंदम:,ऐसा कहकर शत्रुदमन भगवान् श्रीकृष्णने गान्धारीके उस कथनको सत्य करनेकी इच्छासे यदुवंशियोंको उस समय तीर्थयात्राके लिये आज्ञा दी
ity uktvā vāsudevas tu cikīrṣaḥ satyam eva tat | ājñāpayāmāsa tadā tīrthayātrām arindamaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Tendo falado assim, Vāsudeva—decidido a fazer com que aquela palavra se tornasse verdadeira—deu então a ordem para uma peregrinação aos tīrtha, ó subjugador de inimigos.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical gravity of truth and consequence: Kṛṣṇa deliberately acts to bring a spoken outcome to fruition, showing how resolve (saṅkalpa) and action can align with an unfolding destiny, and how pilgrimage can function as a dharmic transition at the end of an era.
After the preceding exchange (notably connected in the Gītā Press context with Gāndhārī’s words), Kṛṣṇa decides to make that pronouncement ‘true’ in effect and therefore orders a tīrtha-yātrā for his people, setting in motion the events that lead toward the Mausala Parva’s culmination.