Shloka 116
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
समतीतानि राजेन्द्र सर्गाश्न प्रलयाश्व ह । सर्गस्यादौ स्मृतो ब्रह्मा प्रजासर्गकर: प्रभु:
samatītāni rājendra sargāś ca pralayāś ca ha | sargasya ādau smṛto brahmā prajā-sarga-karaḥ prabhuḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Ô roi, d’innombrables âges se sont déjà écoulés : bien des créations et des dissolutions ont pris fin. Au commencement de chaque création, on se souvient de Brahmā comme du seigneur souverain qui fait naître la multitude des êtres. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames reality as cyclical—repeated creations and dissolutions—and grounds cosmological knowledge in received tradition: Brahmā is acknowledged as the primary agent of generating beings at the start of creation.
Bhīṣma is instructing the king, shifting to a cosmic perspective: he notes innumerable past cycles of creation and dissolution and identifies Brahmā as the recognized creator of living beings at the commencement of each cycle.