Shloka 3
प्रजाविसर्ग-तत्त्वनिर्णयः | Cosmogony of Elemental Emergence
Bharadvāja–Bhṛgu Dialogue
द्विजाते: कस्यचित् पार्थ स्वाध्यायनिरतस्य वै । बभूव पुत्रो मेधावी मेधावी नाम नामतः
dvijāteḥ kasyacit pārtha svādhyāya-niratasya vai | babhūva putro medhāvī medhāvī nāma nāmataḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô Pārtha, jadis vivait un brāhmane, de ceux qu’on nomme “deux fois nés” (dvija), toujours voué au svādhyāya : l’étude disciplinée et la récitation des Veda et des enseignements sacrés. Il eut un fils à l’intelligence vive—sage par ses qualités, et même par son nom, appelé “Medhāvī” (l’Intelligent).»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets up an ethical exemplar: steadfast commitment to svādhyāya (disciplined sacred study) is presented as a foundational Brahmin virtue, and ‘medhā’ (intelligence) is framed as a valued quality—both as inner merit and as an identity to be lived up to.
Bhishma begins a didactic tale by introducing a devout Brahmin absorbed in Vedic study and his son named Medhāvī, whose intelligence becomes the focal point for the subsequent instruction.