Shloka 4
Śrī-nivāsa: Traits and Conditions for the Abode of Prosperity (श्री-निवासः)
कानीह भूतान्युपसेवसे त्वं संतिष्ठसे कानिव सेवसे त्वम् । तानि त्रिलोकेश्वरभूतकान्ते तत्त्वेन मे ब्रूहि महर्षिकन्ये
bhīṣma uvāca |
kānīha bhūtāny upasevase tvaṃ saṃtiṣṭhase kān iva sevase tvam |
tāni trilokeśvara-bhūta-kānte tattvena me brūhi maharṣi-kanye ||
Bhishma said: “O beloved of the Lord of the three worlds, O maiden born of a great seer—tell me truly: which beings in this world do you favor and attend upon? Where do you dwell, and whom do you partake of or rely upon? Declare all this to me in accordance with reality.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dharmic inquiry: one should seek truthful knowledge (tattvena) about where divine grace abides—i.e., which beings and qualities are worthy of association and service—so that conduct can be aligned with ethical and spiritual reality.
Bhishma addresses a revered female figure, praised as dear to the Lord of the three worlds, and asks her to disclose whom she favors/serves, where she dwells, and what she ‘partakes of’—a way of asking how divine presence operates among beings and what kinds of lives attract it.