Shloka 3
रूयुवाच द्यावापृथिव्योर्यत्रैषा काम्या ब्राह्मणसत्तम | शृणुष्वावहितः सर्व यदिदं सत्यविक्रम,स्त्री बोली--ब्राह्मणशिरोमणे! स्वर्गलोक हो या मर्त्यलोक, जिस किसी भी स्थानमें स्त्री और पुरुष निवास करते हैं, वहाँ उनमें परस्पर संयोगकी यह कामना सदा बनी रहती है। सत्यपराक्रमी विप्र! यह सब जो रूपपरिवर्तनकी लीला की गयी है, उसका कारण बताती हूँ, सावधान होकर सुनिये
bhīṣma uvāca | dyāvāpṛthivyor yatraiṣā kāmyā brāhmaṇasattama | śṛṇuṣvāvahitaḥ sarvaṃ yad idaṃ satyavikrama ||
The woman said: “O best of Brahmins, whether in heaven or on earth—wherever men and women dwell—this mutual longing for union persists. O truth-valiant one, listen with full attention: I shall explain the cause behind this play of transformations that has occurred.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames kāma (desire for union) as a pervasive human condition across realms, and it prepares an ethical explanation: extraordinary events (like transformations) are to be understood through their underlying causes rather than mere spectacle.
Bhishma addresses a Brahmin and asks him to listen attentively, introducing an account that will explain why a sequence of ‘transformations’ or changes of form occurred, grounding the story in motive and causation.