Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 17
ऋष्विम्भिब्रह्मकल्पैश्व भ्रातृभि: सह धर्मज: । आसाटद्य शरतल्पस्थमृषिभि: परिवारितम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
ṛṣvimbhi brahmakalpaiś ca bhrātṛbhiḥ saha dharmajaḥ |
āsādya śaratālpastham ṛṣibhiḥ parivāritam |
tad-anantaraṃ kuru-nandanaḥ dharmaputraḥ dharmarājaḥ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ brahmajīva sama-tejasvī ṛtvigbhiḥ bhrātṛbhiḥ tathā ṛṣibhiś ca ghṛtaḥ bāṇa-śayyāyāṃ śayānaṃ bharata-śreṣṭhaṃ gaṅgāputraṃ bhīṣmam etad uvāca ||
Wika ni Vaiśampāyana: Pagkaraan, si Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira, anak ni Dharma, kasama ang kaniyang mga kapatid at napaliligiran ng mga kagalang-galang na ṛṣi—mga banal na wari’y si Brahmā—ay lumapit kay Bhīṣma, ang pinakamainam sa angkan ng Bharata, ang anak ng Gaṅgā, na nakahimlay sa higaan ng mga palaso. Sa gitna ng mga pari, mga kapatid, at mga pantas, si Yudhiṣṭhira, na nagliliwanag na parang si Brahmā, ay nagsalita kay Bhīṣma sa ganitong paraan.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the ethical setting for instruction: a righteous king (Yudhiṣṭhira) approaches a dying elder (Bhīṣma) in the presence of sages and priests, signaling that dharma is to be learned through humility, proper counsel, and authoritative tradition—especially after the moral trauma of war.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira, with his brothers and accompanied by ṛṣis and priests, goes to Bhīṣma who lies on the arrow-bed, and then begins to speak to him—introducing the forthcoming discourse of Anuśāsana (instruction) delivered by Bhīṣma.