Shloka 11
Śrī–Indra–Bali Saṃvāda: The Departure and Fourfold Placement of Lakṣmī
त॑ं समासीनमागम्य कापिलं मण्डलं महत् | पञ्चस्रोतसि निष्णात: पज्चरात्रविशारद:
taṁ samāsīnam āgamya kāpilaṁ maṇḍalaṁ mahat | pañcasrotasi niṣṇātaḥ pañcarātraviśāradaḥ ||
भीष्म बोले—जब वे आश्रम में आसनस्थ थे, तब कपिल-मतावलम्बी मुनियों का एक महान् समुदाय वहाँ आया। उनमें पञ्चशिख भी थे—पञ्चस्रोत (इन्द्रिय-मन के प्रवाह) में निपुण और पञ्चरात्र परम्परा में विशारद। वे प्रत्येक पुरुष में स्थित अव्यक्त तत्त्व और परम सत्य के विषय में उपदेश की याचना करने लगे।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a quest for higher knowledge: sages approach a seated teacher to inquire into the avyakta (the unmanifest) and the supreme truth present within beings. It highlights disciplined expertise (niṣṇāta, viśārada) as a qualification for subtle inquiry, and it places Sāṅkhya (Kāpila) and Pañcarātra learning in a shared ethical-spiritual pursuit of liberation.
In Bhīṣma’s narration, Āsuri is seated in his hermitage when a large group of Kapila-aligned sages arrives. They request instruction about the inner, unmanifest principle and ultimate reality. Pañcaśikha is singled out as a distinguished member of the group, renowned for mastery over the ‘five streams’ and for expertise in Pañcarātra.