Shloka 15
Adhyāya 270 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s inquiry on saṃnyāsa; Bhīṣma on calculable time, tamas, and karma
Vṛtra–Uśanā exemplum begins
मणिभद्रं स तत्रस्थं देवतानां महाद्युतिम् । अपश्यत महात्मानं व्यादिशन्तं युधिष्ठिर
maṇibhadraṁ sa tatrasthaṁ devatānāṁ mahādyutim | apaśyata mahātmānaṁ vyādiśantaṁ yudhiṣṭhira ||
يا يودهيشثيرا! لقد رأى هناك مَṇيبهادرا، العظيم المتلألئ بين الكائنات الإلهية، سيدَ الياكشا النبيل، جالسًا في ذلك الموضع؛ ورآه يوجّه ويُرتّب شؤونَ طالبي العطاء، فيُقدّم هذا ويؤخّر ذاك للمثول بين يدي الآلهة.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the idea of ordered governance even in divine realms: requests and rewards are not random but are administered through discernment and authority. Ethically, it implies that outcomes are regulated by a moral-cosmic system where merit, propriety, and right procedure matter.
A figure (as described by Bhīṣma) sees the Yakṣa-lord Maṇibhadra present among the gods, actively directing or assigning various petitioners—organizing who is to be presented and how their requests are to be handled before the divine assembly.