Shloka 4
प्रजापतयः देवगणाश्च दिशि-दिशि स्थिताः ऋषयः
Prajāpatis, Deva-Groups, and the Ṛṣis Assigned to the Directions
यत्कारणं यत्र विधि: प्रवृत्तो ज्ञाने फलं यत्प्रवदन्ति विप्रा: । यन्मन्त्रशब्दैरकृतप्रकाशं तदुच्यतां मे भगवन् यथावत्
yatkāraṇaṁ yatra vidhiḥ pravṛtto jñāne phalaṁ yatpravadanti viprāḥ | yanmantraśabdair akṛtaprakāśaṁ taducyatāṁ me bhagavan yathāvat, bhagavan ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „O Erhabener, erkläre mir richtig und vollständig jene ewige Wirklichkeit: die Ursache dieser Welt; um derentwillen vedische Riten und Satzungen vollzogen werden; die die gelehrten Brahmanen als Frucht wahrer Erkenntnis verkünden; und deren Wesen durch die bloßen Worte der vedischen Mantras nicht völlig ans Licht gebracht wird.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the highest Reality (Brahman/Paramatman) as the ultimate cause, the true goal behind Vedic injunctions, and the supreme fruit of knowledge—yet not something exhaustively captured by mantra-words alone. It points toward realization that transcends mere verbal or ritual formulation.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction setting, Bhishma addresses a revered teacher as “Bhagavan” and requests a precise exposition of the eternal principle: why rituals are performed, what sages call the result of knowledge, and what remains only partially disclosed by Vedic mantras.