Shloka 3
Keśava-tattva-kathana
On the Principle of Keśava: Cosmogony and Divine Epithets
भीष्म उवाच तथेत्येवं प्रतिश्रुत्य धर्म सम्पूज्य च प्रभो । यम॑ काल च मृत्युं च स्वर्ग सम्पूज्य चाहत:
bhīṣma uvāca | tathety evaṃ pratiśrutya dharmaṃ sampūjya ca prabho | yamaṃ kālaṃ ca mṛtyuṃ ca svargaṃ sampūjya cāhataḥ |
ビーシュマは言った。「婆羅門は『そのとおりに』と承って、まずダルマに正しく敬礼し、ついでヤマ、時（カール）、死（ムリティ्यु）、そして天界（スヴァルガ）を、尊ぶべき神聖な力として礼拝した。さらに、先に居合わせた婆羅門たちと、後から来た高徳の婆羅門たちの足もとに頭を垂れて敬意を尽くし、しかるべき作法をすべて整えたのち、王に向かって語りかけた。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores reverence for Dharma and the cosmic regulators—Yama (moral recompense), Kāla (time), Mṛtyu (mortality), and Svarga (the fruit of merit). Ethically, it models humility and proper conduct: before speaking to power (the king), one honors the moral order and pays due respect to the learned.
Bhishma narrates that a Brahmin first agrees (“So be it”), then performs worship of Dharma and other personified cosmic powers, and respectfully honors the Brahmins present. Having completed these courtesies, he proceeds to address the king, setting a solemn and dharmic frame for what he is about to say.