Shloka 4
Khaḍgotpattiḥ (Origin and Dharmic Function of the Sword) | खड्गोत्पत्तिः
युधिछिर उवाच अज्ञानस्य प्रवृत्ति च स्थान वृद्धिक्षयोदयौ । मूलं योगं गतिं कालं॑ कारणं हेतुमेव च,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--भूपाल! अज्ञानकी उत्पत्ति, स्थिति, वृद्धि, क्षय, उद्गम, मूल, योग, गति, काल, कारण और हेतु कया हैं?
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ajñānasya pravṛttiṁ ca sthāna-vṛddhi-kṣayodayau | mūlaṁ yogaṁ gatiṁ kālaṁ kāraṇaṁ hetum eva ca ||
قال يودهيشتيرا: «أيها الملك، أخبرني عن الجهل: نشأته وحركته، مقامه وثباته، ازدياده ونقصانه، وظهوره. وبيّن أيضًا أصله، واتصاله (يوغا)، ومساره (غَتي)، ودور الزمان، وما الذي يُعَدّ حقًّا سببَه، وما هو باعثه القريب.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a systematic ethical-philosophical inquiry: ignorance is not treated vaguely but analyzed through its lifecycle (arising, persistence, growth, decline) and through causal categories (root, connection, course, time, cause, motive). This prepares for a dharma-centered explanation of how delusion forms and how it can be understood and overcome.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction setting, Yudhiṣṭhira questions a royal-sage authority (addressed as ‘O king’) and asks for a detailed account of ajñāna—how it begins, how it operates in life, what sustains it, and what factors (including time and causation) govern it.