Shloka 17
Śrī–Indra–Bali Saṃvāda: The Departure and Fourfold Placement of Lakṣmī
एतन्मे भगवानाह कापिलेयस्य सम्भवम् | तस्य तत् कापिलेयत्वं सर्ववित्त्वमनुत्तमम्,कापिलेयके जन्मका यह वृतान्त मुझे भगवानने बताया था। उनके कपिलापुत्र कहलाने और सर्वज्ञ होनेका यही परम उत्तम वृत्तान्त है
etan me bhagavān āha kāpileyasya sambhavam | tasya tat kāpileyatvaṁ sarvavittvam anuttamam |
Bhishma dit : «C’est le Seigneur Bienheureux qui m’a rapporté ce récit de l’origine de Kāpileya. Ce récit même est l’explication la plus haute de la raison pour laquelle on l’appelle “le fils de Kapilā” et de la manière dont il parvint à une omniscience sans égale.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the authority of a sacred transmission: Bhishma grounds the account of Kapileya’s identity and supreme knowledge in what was taught by the ‘Bhagavan,’ presenting lineage-name (kāpileyatva) and omniscience (sarvavittva) as meaningful, ethically weighty attributes established by an authoritative narrative.
Bhishma, continuing his instruction in the Shanti Parva, introduces or concludes an explanatory tradition about the sage Kapileya—stating that he learned Kapileya’s origin and the reason for his epithet and unsurpassed knowledge from the Blessed Lord, thereby validating the forthcoming (or just-related) account.