अहिंसयित्वा ब्रह्महत्याविधानम् / Brahmahatyā incurred without physical violence
तत्रेमं शृणु मे पार्थ चतुर्णा तेजसां मतम् | पृथिव्या: काश्यपस्याग्नेर्मार्कण्डेयस्य चैव हि,कुन्तीनन्दन! इस विषयमें तुम मुझसे पृथ्वी, काश्यप, अग्नि और मार्कण्डेय--इन चार तेजस्वी व्यक्तियोंका मत सुनो
tatremaṁ śṛṇu me pārtha caturṇāṁ tejasāṁ matam | pṛthivyāḥ kāśyapasyāgner mārkaṇḍeyasya caiva hi ||
Bhishma sprach: „Nun, o Pārtha, höre mich an: Ich will die wohlüberlegte Ansicht vier erhabener Autoritäten darlegen—der Erde selbst, Kaśyapa, Agni und des Weisen Mārkaṇḍeya. Ihr Zeugnis wird diese Sache erhellen, gegründet auf Dharma und gelebte Erfahrung.“
भीष्म उवाच
Bhīṣma frames the forthcoming instruction as grounded in multiple authoritative witnesses—cosmic (Earth), ancestral-sage (Kaśyapa), divine (Agni), and ascetic-seer (Mārkaṇḍeya)—implying that dharma is best understood through converging, time-tested perspectives rather than a single opinion.
In the Anuśāsana discourse, Bhīṣma continues instructing Arjuna and signals a transition: he will now recount what four eminent beings have said on the topic under discussion, preparing the listener for a cited tradition of teachings.