Shloka 66

बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account

On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics

Devanagari script

विष्णुर्मरीचये प्रादान्मरीचिर्भगवानपि

Transliteration

viṣṇur marīcaye prādān marīcir bhagavān api

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : « Viṣṇu confia (cet enseignement) à Marīci ; et Marīci, le sage vénérable, le transmit à son tour. Ce vers souligne l’autorité éthique d’une doctrine en la rattachant à une lignée de transmission tenue pour sacrée. »

Word by Word

• विष्णुः: Vishnu
• विष्णुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मरीचये: to Marichi
• मरीचये: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरीचि
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• प्रादात्: gave
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (दाने)
• Form: Aorist (Luṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• मरीचिः: Marichi
• मरीचिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरीचि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भगवान्: the blessed/lordly one
• भगवान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भगवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Marīci
• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That dharma and sacred knowledge gain weight and reliability when shown to descend through an honored lineage (paramparā)—from a supreme divine source (Viṣṇu) to an ancient seer (Marīci) and onward—signaling continuity, authenticity, and responsibility in transmission.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is recounting a chain of transmission: Viṣṇu imparted a teaching (or principle) to the sage Marīci, and Marīci, himself revered, then passed it forward. The verse functions as a link in a longer genealogy of instruction within Śānti Parva’s discourse on dharma.