Shloka 12
धर्मद्वारबहुत्वविमर्शः — Reflection on the Many ‘Doors’ of Dharma (Śānti-parva 342)
यस्य प्रसादजो ब्रह्मा रुद्रश्न क्रोधसम्भव:
yasya prasādajo brahmā rudraś ca krodha-sambhavaḥ
Arjuna sprach: „Aus Deiner Gnade wird Brahmā geboren, und aus Deinem Zorn geht Rudra hervor—Du bist die Quelle sowohl der schöpferischen Ordnung als auch der zerstörenden Macht.“
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the Supreme as the ultimate source behind contrasting cosmic functions: creation (Brahmā arising from divine grace) and dissolution or fierce transformative power (Rudra arising from divine wrath). Ethically, it suggests that even opposing forces operate within a single higher order, encouraging humility and reverence toward the governing principle of dharma.
Arjuna speaks in a laudatory, theological mode, identifying the addressed Supreme being as the origin of major deities and their functions. The statement functions as praise and as a doctrinal marker within Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse on ultimate reality, governance of the cosmos, and the foundations of righteous conduct.