Shloka 76
Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)
मानवानां प्रमोहार्थ कृत्या नार्योडसृजत् प्रभु: । उन देवताओंके मनकी बात जानकर भगवान् ब्रह्माने मनुष्योंको मोहमें डालनेके लिये कृत्यारूप नारियोंकी सृष्टि की
mānavānāṁ pramohārthaṁ kṛtyā nāryo 'sṛjat prabhuḥ | tān devatānāṁ manasī bālaṁ jñātvā bhagavān brahmā manuṣyān mohayituṁ kṛtyārūpā nārīḥ sasarja ||
Bhishma berkata: Mengetahui apa yang tersimpan dalam benak para dewa, Sang Penguasa Brahma menciptakan perempuan dalam wujud kṛtyā, demi menjerumuskan manusia ke dalam kemabukan delusi.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that attachment and fascination can become a source of moha (delusion), undermining discrimination and steadiness in dharma; it presents this as a cosmic, didactic explanation through Brahmā’s act of creation.
Bhīṣma, in an instructive discourse, states that Brahmā—perceiving the gods’ intention—created women as kṛtyā-like forms to bewilder humans, using mythic causation to explain moral vulnerability and the need for self-control.