Shloka 6
धर्मद्वारबहुत्वविमर्शः — Reflection on the Many ‘Doors’ of Dharma (Śānti-parva 342)
यानि नामानि ते देव कीर्तितानि महर्षिभि: | वेदेषु सपुराणेषु यानि गुह्मानि कर्मभि:
yāni nāmāni te deva kīrtitāni maharṣibhiḥ | vedeṣu sapurāṇeṣu yāni guhyāni karmabhiḥ
Arjuna sprach: „O göttlicher, jene deiner Namen, die von den großen Sehern gepriesen wurden—jene geheimen Namen, von denen in den Veden und Purāṇas die Rede ist, und jene, die mit verborgenen Riten und heiligen Handlungen verbunden sind—(verkünde sie mir).“
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the authority of revealed tradition: divine names and teachings are validated through the testimony of seers and the scriptural corpus (Veda and Purāṇa). It also points to a layered spirituality in which some aspects—names, rites, and meanings—are ‘guhya’ (esoteric) and meant to be received through proper instruction.
Arjuna addresses a divine figure and requests disclosure or clarification of the deity’s celebrated names—especially those regarded as secret or connected with sacred rites—known from the Vedas and Purāṇas and praised by great sages.