Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)
मानवानां प्रमोहार्थ कृत्या नार्योडसृजत् प्रभु: । उन देवताओंके मनकी बात जानकर भगवान् ब्रह्माने मनुष्योंको मोहमें डालनेके लिये कृत्यारूप नारियोंकी सृष्टि की
mānavānāṁ pramohārthaṁ kṛtyā nāryo 'sṛjat prabhuḥ | tān devatānāṁ manasī bālaṁ jñātvā bhagavān brahmā manuṣyān mohayituṁ kṛtyārūpā nārīḥ sasarja ||
Bhishma dit : Sachant ce que les dieux avaient en l’esprit, le Seigneur Brahmā créa des femmes sous la forme de kṛtyās, afin de plonger les humains dans l’égarement.
भीष्म उवाच
The verse warns that attachment and fascination can become a source of moha (delusion), undermining discrimination and steadiness in dharma; it presents this as a cosmic, didactic explanation through Brahmā’s act of creation.
Bhīṣma, in an instructive discourse, states that Brahmā—perceiving the gods’ intention—created women as kṛtyā-like forms to bewilder humans, using mythic causation to explain moral vulnerability and the need for self-control.