Shloka 3
Pātra-Lakṣaṇa and Niścita-Dharma
Marks of a Worthy Recipient and Stable Criteria of Dharma
रूयुवाच द्यावापृथिव्योर्यत्रैषा काम्या ब्राह्मणसत्तम | शृणुष्वावहितः सर्व यदिदं सत्यविक्रम
bhīṣma uvāca | dyāvāpṛthivyor yatraiṣā kāmyā brāhmaṇasattama | śṛṇuṣvāvahitaḥ sarvaṃ yad idaṃ satyavikrama ||
La femme dit : «Ô le meilleur des brahmanes ! Qu’il s’agisse du ciel ou de la terre—partout où demeurent hommes et femmes—subsiste ce désir réciproque d’union. Ô vaillant dans la vérité, écoute avec une attention entière : je t’exposerai la cause de ce jeu de métamorphoses qui s’est produit.»
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.