युधिष्ठिरं समभ्येत्य वाग्मी वचनमत्रवीत् | उसके तीसरे दिन सत्यवतीनन्दन प्रवचनकुशल महर्षि व्यास युधिष्ठिके पास आकर बोले--
yudhiṣṭhiraṃ samabhyetya vāgmī vacanam atravīt |
युधिष्ठिरं समभ्येत्य वाग्मी वचनमब्रवीत् । तृतीयेऽहनि सत्यवतीनन्दनो महर्षिर्व्यासः प्रवचनकुशलो युधिष्ठिरस्य समीपमागत्य उवाच—
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse frames the ethical authority of instruction: a righteous king (Yudhiṣṭhira) receives guidance from an accomplished sage (Vyāsa). It highlights that governance and personal conduct should be shaped by learned, dharma-grounded counsel rather than impulse or power.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana introduces a new speech episode: Vyāsa approaches Yudhiṣṭhira (noted as occurring on the third day in the accompanying prose) and begins to speak, signaling an impending discourse or directive relevant to the ongoing events of the Aśvamedha context.