Shloka 4

Khaḍgotpattiḥ (Origin and Dharmic Function of the Sword) | खड्गोत्पत्तिः

Devanagari script

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?

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ajñānasya pravṛttiṁ ca sthāna-vṛddhi-kṣayodayau | mūlaṁ yogaṁ gatiṁ kālaṁ kāraṇaṁ hetum eva ca ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira sagte: „O König, berichte mir von der Unwissenheit: von ihrem Entstehen und Wirken, von ihrem Verweilen, von ihrem Wachsen und Schwinden und von ihrem Hervortreten. Erkläre auch ihre Wurzel, ihre Verbindung (Yoga), ihren Lauf (Gati), die Rolle der Zeit und was wahrhaft als ihre Ursache und ihr unmittelbarer Antrieb gilt.“

Word by Word

युधिष्ठिरःYudhiṣṭhira

उवाचsaid

अज्ञानस्यof ignorance

प्रवृत्तिःarising; activity; origination

चand

स्थानम्abiding; state; continuance

वृद्धिःincrease; growth

क्षयःdecay; diminution; destruction

उदयौtwo risings/origins (dual form as in the received text)

मूलम्root; source

योगम्connection; conjunction; yoga

गतिम्course; movement; destiny

कालम्time

कारणम्cause

हेतुम्reason; motive

एवindeed; just

चand

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.