Shloka 3
गोप्रदान-माहात्म्ये गोलोक-प्रश्नः
Gopradāna-Māhātmya: Inquiry into Goloka
मध्यदेशे महान ग्रामो ब्राह्म॒णानां बभूव ह | गंगायमुनयोर्मध्ये यामुनस्य गिरेरध:,नरेश्वर! मध्यदेशमें गंगा-यमुनाके मध्यभागमें यामुन पर्वतके निम्न स्थलमें ब्राह्मणोंका एक विशाल एवं रमणीय ग्राम था जो लोगोंमें पर्णशशालानामसे विख्यात था। वहाँ बहुत-से विद्वान ब्राह्मण निवास करते थे
bhīṣma uvāca | madhyadeśe mahān grāmo brāhmaṇānāṃ babhūva ha | gaṅgāyamunayor madhye yāmunasya girer adhaḥ |
Bhīṣma berkata: Di Madhyadeśa pernah ada sebuah penempatan besar kaum Brahmana. Letaknya di antara Sungai Gaṅgā dan Yamunā, di bawah lereng gunung Yāmuna. Petikan ini memperkenalkan sebuah desa Brahmana yang masyhur—latar yang diidealkan bagi ilmu dan kehidupan berdisiplin—sebagai persiapan bagi kisah pengajaran dharma yang berakar pada kewibawaan geografi suci dan laku para cendekia.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse establishes a dharmic setting: a Brahmin settlement in the revered Madhyadeśa between the Gaṅgā and Yamunā. By grounding the story in sacred geography and a community of learned Brahmins, the text signals that the forthcoming instruction is to be understood as authoritative and aligned with orthodox dharma.
Bhīṣma begins a new illustrative account by describing the location of a famous Brahmin village situated between the Gaṅgā and Yamunā, below the Yāmuna mountain. This functions as scene-setting before introducing the people and events through which the moral teaching will be conveyed.