Shloka 30
एकान्तिधर्म-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into Ekāntin Dharma) / The Origin and Practice of Single-Pointed Nārāyaṇa-Centered Discipline
सप्त प्रकृतयो होतास्तथा स्वायम्भुवोडष्टम: । एताभिर्धार्यते लोकस्ताभ्य: शास्त्र विनि:सृतम्
saptaprakṛtayo hotās tathā svāyambhuvo ’ṣṭamaḥ | etābhir dhāryate lokas tābhyaḥ śāstra-viniḥsṛtam ||
Bhīṣma said: “There are seven primal constituents (prakṛtis), and the eighth is Svāyambhuva (Brahmā). By these the world is upheld, and from them the authoritative teachings (śāstra) have issued forth. These sages are single-minded, self-controlled, devoted to restraint, knowers of past, future, and present, and steadfast in truth and dharma.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The cosmos is sustained by fundamental principles (seven prakṛtis) together with the self-born creator (Svāyambhuva/Brahmā), and normative knowledge (śāstra) is presented as emanating from these foundational sources; true sages embody restraint, self-mastery, and commitment to truth and dharma.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma continues a doctrinal exposition, grounding ethical and scriptural authority in a cosmological framework and describing the qualities of the rishis who uphold and transmit that order.