Shloka 2
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
भीष्म उवाच शृणु पार्थ यथावृत्तमितिहासं पुरातनम् । गृध्रजम्बुकसंवादं यो वृत्तो नैमिषे पुरा,भीष्मजीने कहा--कुन्तीनन्दन! प्राचीनकालमें नैमिषारण्यक्षेत्रमें गीध और गीदड़का जो संवाद हुआ था, उसे सुनो, वह पूर्वधटित यथार्थ इतिहास है
bhīṣma uvāca: śṛṇu pārtha yathāvṛttam itihāsaṃ purātanam | gṛdhra-jambuka-saṃvādaṃ yo vṛtto naimiṣe purā ||
भीष्म उवाच—शृणु पार्थ यथावृत्तमितिहासं पुरातनम् । गृध्रजम्बुकसंवादं यो वृत्तो नैमिषे पुरा ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames the coming instruction as a yathāvṛtta itihāsa—an account ‘as it truly happened’—signaling that ethical guidance is to be drawn from a concrete example (a dialogue between animals) rather than abstract theory.
Bhishma addresses Arjuna and introduces an old episode set in Naimiṣa: a conversation between a vulture and a jackal. This verse functions as the opening invitation to hear that instructive dialogue.