Shloka 22
त्रिवर्गमूलनिश्चयः — Determining the Roots of Dharma, Artha, and Kāma
Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 123
ततः: पितामहो विष्णुं भगवन्तं सनातनम् । सम्पूज्य वरदं देवं॑ महादेवमथाब्रवीत्
tataḥ pitāmaho viṣṇuṃ bhagavantaṃ sanātanam | sampūjya varadaṃ devaṃ mahādevam athābravīt ||
Quand l’état des choses en fut là, le Grand-Père (Brahmā), après avoir dûment adoré le Seigneur éternel Viṣṇu, s’approcha de Mahādeva, le dieu dispensateur de grâces, et dit : « Ô Śaṅkara, en cette situation tu dois faire preuve de compassion. Trouve un moyen pour que la varṇa-saṅkara — la confusion de l’ordre social — ne se répande pas dans le monde. »
वसुहरोम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames social stability as a dharmic responsibility: when disorder threatens, wise governance seeks divine guidance to prevent the breakdown of ethical and social norms (here expressed as varṇa-saṅkara). It also models humility—Brahmā worships Viṣṇu and then petitions Śiva—showing that even the highest authority acts through reverence and consultation for the welfare of the world.
Vasuharoma narrates that Brahmā first worships the eternal Viṣṇu and then addresses Mahādeva (Śiva), asking him to show grace and to devise a remedy so that social confusion and intermixture leading to disorder (varṇa-saṅkara) does not spread in the world.