Shloka 15
Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)
यो व्यस्य वेदांश्षतुरस्तपसा भगवानृषि: । लोके व्यासत्वमापेदे कार्ष्ण्यात् कृष्णत्वमेव च
yo vyasya vedāṁś caturas tapasa bhagavān ṛṣiḥ | loke vyāsatvam āpede kārṣṇyāt kṛṣṇatvam eva ca ||
स भगवानृषिः तपसा वेदान् चतुरो व्यस्य पृथक् पृथग् व्यतनोत्; तेन लोके ‘व्यास’ इति पदवीं प्राप। कार्ष्ण्यात् च ‘कृष्ण’ इत्यपि जनैः कथ्यते।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual authority and lasting renown arise from tapas directed toward the preservation and clear transmission of sacred knowledge; names and titles in the epic often reflect a person’s function (Vyāsa as ‘arranger/expander’) and visible traits (Kṛṣṇa as ‘dark-complexioned’).
The narrator identifies the great sage Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana and explains why he is known by two famous names: he is called Vyāsa because he organized/expanded the four Vedas, and he is also called Kṛṣṇa because of his dark complexion.