Shloka 9
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Kṛṣṇa’s Rudra-Cosmogony Explanation (सौप्तिक पर्व, अध्याय १७)
आदिरेष हि भूतानां मध्यमन्तश्न॒ भारत । विचेष्टते जगच्चेदं सर्वमस्यैव कर्मणा
ādireṣa hi bhūtānāṁ madhyam antaś ca bhārata | viceṣṭate jagac cedaṁ sarvam asyaiva karmaṇā ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Bhārata, er ist wahrlich der Anfang aller Wesen, ihre Mitte und ihr Ende. Durch seine eigene Macht und Wirksamkeit bewegt und handelt diese ganze Welt auf mannigfache Weise.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms a theistic-cosmic vision: the supreme Lord (here understood as Śiva) is the origin, sustainer, and end of all beings, and the diverse motions of the world proceed from his agency—encouraging humility and devotion amid human conflict.
In Sauptika Parva’s aftermath of night-time violence, Vaiśampāyana frames events within a larger divine order, stating that the world’s varied actions unfold through the Lord’s power, thereby interpreting the unfolding calamities against a cosmic backdrop.