Shloka 3
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
कथं प्रवृत्तिधर्मेषु भागा्हा देवता: कृता: । कथं निवृत्तिधर्माश्व कृता व्यावृत्तबुद्धयः,इस प्रकार निवृत्तिधर्मावलम्बी होते हुए भी उन्होंने देवताओंको प्रवृत्तिधर्मोमें अर्थात् यज्ञादि कर्मोमें भाग लेनेका अधिकारी क्यों बनाया? तथा ऋषि-मुनियोंको विषयोंसे विरक्तबुद्धि और निवृत्तिधर्मपरायण किस कारण बनाया?
kathaṁ pravṛttidharmeṣu bhāgāḥ devatāḥ kṛtāḥ | kathaṁ nivṛttidharmeṣu ca kṛtā vyāvṛttabuddhayaḥ ||
سأل شَوْنَكَة: «كيف خُصِّصت للآلهة حِصّةٌ ومشاركةٌ في شرائع الانخراط في شؤون الدنيا—كاليَجْنَة (القربان) وسائر الأعمال الطقسية؟ وكيف، من جهةٍ أخرى، جُعِلَ الحكماءُ ذوي عقولٍ منصرفةٍ عن موضوعات الحسّ، راسخين في شريعة الزهد والانصراف (دَرْمَة التخلّي)؟ ولأيّ سببٍ وُضِع هذا التقسيم؟»
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a foundational dharma-question: why the cosmos is organized with different beings aligned to different paths—deities oriented to ritual participation and receipt of offerings (pravṛtti), and sages oriented to detachment and renunciation (nivṛtti). It invites an explanation of complementary roles: sustaining worldly order through action and pointing beyond it through renunciation.
Śaunaka, in a dialogic setting, asks for the rationale behind the allocation of roles: why gods are made beneficiaries/participants in sacrificial action, and why sages are fashioned with withdrawn minds devoted to renunciant discipline. The question sets up a response about the origin and purpose of these two dharma-orientations.