Shloka 5

सप्तब्रह्माण इत्येते पुराणे निश्चयं गता: । अत ऊर्ध्व॑ प्रवक्ष्यामि सवनिव प्रजापतीन्‌,पुराणमें ये सात ब्रह्मा निश्चित किये गये हैं। अब मैं समस्त प्रजापतियोंका वर्णन आरम्भ करता हूँ

sapta-brahmāṇa ity ete purāṇe niścayaṃ gatāḥ | ata ūrdhvaṃ pravakṣyāmi sarvān iva prajāpātīn ||

Bhīṣma said: “These are known in the Purāṇic tradition as the ‘seven Brahmās,’ a conclusion firmly accepted there. Now, going forward, I shall begin to describe the Prajāpatis in their entirety.”

सप्तseven
सप्त:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootसप्त
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
ब्रह्माणःBrahmās / Brahmā-like beings
ब्रह्माणः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootब्रह्मन्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
इतिthus
इति:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइति
एतेthese
एते:
Karta
TypePronoun
Rootएतद्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
पुराणेin the Purāṇa / in ancient tradition
पुराणे:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootपुराण
FormNeuter, Locative, Singular
निश्चयम्certainty, determination
निश्चयम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootनिश्चय
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
गताःhaving reached / having attained
गताः:
TypeVerb
Rootगम्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
अतःtherefore, hence
अतः:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअतः
ऊर्ध्वम्further, onwards
ऊर्ध्वम्:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootऊर्ध्व
प्रवक्ष्यामिI shall declare
प्रवक्ष्यामि:
TypeVerb
Rootवच्
FormSimple Future (Luṭ), First, Singular
सर्वान्all
सर्वान्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootसर्व
FormMasculine, Accusative, Plural
इवas if, like
इव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइव
प्रजापतीन्Prajāpatis (progenitor lords)
प्रजापतीन्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootप्रजापति
FormMasculine, Accusative, Plural

भीष्म उवाच

B
Bhīṣma
S
sapta-brahmāṇaḥ (the seven Brahmās)
P
Prajāpatis
P
Purāṇas (Purāṇic tradition)

Educational Q&A

The verse frames Bhīṣma’s teaching as grounded in received tradition: certain cosmological classifications (like the ‘seven Brahmās’) are treated as settled, and on that basis he proceeds to a systematic account of the Prajāpatis—highlighting the importance of authoritative lineage and ordered knowledge in dharma-instruction.

Bhīṣma signals a transition in his discourse: having referenced an established Purāṇic conclusion about the ‘seven Brahmās,’ he now begins a new section that will enumerate and explain the Prajāpatis (progenitor figures) as part of a broader cosmological and genealogical exposition in the Śānti Parva.