Shloka 66

बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account

On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics

Devanagari script

विष्णुर्मरीचये प्रादान्मरीचिर्भगवानपि

Transliteration

viṣṇur marīcaye prādān marīcir bhagavān api

Translation

Bhīṣma sagte: „Viṣṇu übergab (diese Lehre) Marīci; und auch Marīci, der ehrwürdige Weise, gab sie seinerseits weiter.“ Die Zeile betont die ethische Autorität einer Unterweisung, indem sie sie auf eine verehrte Überlieferungslinie zurückführt.

Word by Word

विष्णुःVishnu

मरीचयेto Marichi

प्रादात्gave

मरीचिःMarichi

भगवान्the blessed/lordly one

अपिalso

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Viṣṇu

Marīci

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That dharma and sacred knowledge gain weight and reliability when shown to descend through an honored lineage (paramparā)—from a supreme divine source (Viṣṇu) to an ancient seer (Marīci) and onward—signaling continuity, authenticity, and responsibility in transmission.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is recounting a chain of transmission: Viṣṇu imparted a teaching (or principle) to the sage Marīci, and Marīci, himself revered, then passed it forward. The verse functions as a link in a longer genealogy of instruction within Śānti Parva’s discourse on dharma.