Shloka 3
Strī-satkāra (On honoring women) — Mahābhārata 13.46
विपुल उवाच ब्रह्मर्षे मिथुनं कि तत् के च ते पुरुषा विभो । ये मां जानन्ति तत्त्वेन यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि
vipula uvāca brahmarṣe mithunaṁ ki tat ke ca te puruṣā vibho | ye māṁ jānanti tattvena yan māṁ tvaṁ paripṛcchasi ||
Vipula said: “O brahmarṣi, what was that pair (male and female) that I saw? And who were those six men, O mighty one—those who truly know me, about whom you too are questioning me?”
विपुल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds truthful inquiry (tattvena jñāna): ethical understanding begins with precise questioning about what one has seen and about the identities and roles of those involved.
Vipula responds to a sage’s questioning by asking for clarification: he wants to know who the couple he saw were and who the six men were—figures said to know him truly—since the sage is also inquiring about them.