Shloka 36
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
निर्ममे लोकसिद्धयर्थ ब्रह्मा लोकपितामह: । अश भ्य: प्रकृतिभ्यश्व जात॑ विश्वमिदं जगत्
Vaiśampāyana uvāca |
Nirmame lokasiddhyarthaṁ Brahmā lokapitāmahaḥ |
Aṣṭabhyaḥ prakṛtibhyaś ca jātaṁ viśvam idaṁ jagat ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Pour l’établissement et le bon ordre des mondes, Brahmā —l’aïeul des mondes— fit advenir la création. Des huit Prakṛti primordiales est issu tout cet univers manifesté.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the universe is not random but established for the proper functioning of the worlds, and that all manifested existence arises from fundamental constituents (the ‘eight prakṛtis’), grounding ethical life (dharma) in a coherent cosmic order.
Vaiśampāyana continues an explanatory discourse in Śānti Parva, describing Brahmā’s role in instituting the world-order and stating that the entire cosmos originates from eight primordial principles.