Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 1
भीष्मस्योत्तरायणप्रतीक्षा तथा युधिष्ठिरागमनम् | Bhīṣma’s uttarāyaṇa moment and Yudhiṣṭhira’s arrival
/ (दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके ३ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ६४ श्लोक हैं) ऑपन--माज बक। अपफि्-"ऋाझ सप्तचत्वारिशर्दाधिकशततमो« ध्याय: वंशपरम्पराका कथन और भगवान् श्रीकृष्णके माहात्म्यका वर्णन ऋषय ऊचु: पिनाकिन् भगनेत्रघ्न सर्वलोकनमस्कृत । माहात्म्यं वासुदेवस्य श्रोतुमिच्छामि शड्कर
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | pinākin bhaganetraghna sarvalokanamaskṛta | māhātmyaṃ vāsudevasya śrotum icchāmaḥ śaṅkara ||
Các bậc hiền triết thưa rằng: “Ôi Śaṅkara, đấng mang cung Pināka—nổi danh là kẻ hủy diệt con mắt của Bhaga, được muôn cõi kính lễ—nay chúng con muốn được nghe về đại uy đức của Vāsudeva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharmic learning as humble inquiry: revered sages approach a higher authority (Śiva) with respectful epithets and request a discourse on Vāsudeva’s māhātmya, implying that understanding divine excellence is a legitimate and elevating aim of study.
A group of sages address Śiva (Śaṅkara), praising him as Pinākin and as the one associated with the Dakṣa-yajña episode (Bhaga’s eye), and ask to hear the account of Vāsudeva/Kṛṣṇa’s greatness—setting up a section devoted to Kṛṣṇa’s glorification.