Shloka 643
Āścarya-kathana: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Dialogue on Sūrya (Vivasvat) and the ‘Second Sun’ Phenomenon
ऋषीणां संनिधौ राजन् शृण्वतो: कृष्णभीष्मयो: । प्रजानाथ! इस प्रकार मेरे धर्मज्ञ गुरु द्विजश्रेष्ठ भगवान् व्यासने श्रीकृष्ण और भीष्मके सुनते हुए ऋषि-मुनियोंके समीप धर्मराजको इस धर्मका उपदेश किया था
ṛṣīṇāṃ saṃnidhau rājan śṛṇvatoḥ kṛṣṇabhīṣmayoḥ | prajānātha! iti prakāraṃ me dharmajño guruḥ dvijaśreṣṭho bhagavān vyāsaḥ śrīkṛṣṇaṃ ca bhīṣmaṃ ca śṛṇvataḥ ṛṣimunīnāṃ samīpe dharmarājaṃ etasya dharmasya upadeśaṃ kṛtavān |
वैशम्पायन उवाच—ऋषीणां संनिधौ राजन् शृण्वतोः कृष्णभीष्मयोः। प्रजानाथ! एवं मे धर्मज्ञो गुरुः द्विजश्रेष्ठो भगवान् व्यासः ऋषिमुनिसमीपे धर्मराजं धर्मोपदेशेनोपदिदेश॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma as an authoritative teaching transmitted in a formal setting: Vyāsa, the revered sage, instructs Dharmarāja on righteousness in the presence of other sages, with Kṛṣṇa and Bhīṣma as attentive witnesses—emphasizing that ethical governance is grounded in śāstra-informed counsel and careful listening.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Vyāsa delivered a discourse on dharma to Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja). The instruction occurs before an assembly of ṛṣis, while Kṛṣṇa and Bhīṣma listen, highlighting a public, tradition-sanctioned transmission of moral and political guidance in the Śānti Parva context.