Shloka 3
गोप्रदान-माहात्म्ये गोलोक-प्रश्नः
Gopradāna-Māhātmya: Inquiry into Goloka
मध्यदेशे महान ग्रामो ब्राह्म॒णानां बभूव ह | गंगायमुनयोर्मध्ये यामुनस्य गिरेरध:
bhīṣma uvāca | madhyadeśe mahān grāmo brāhmaṇānāṃ babhūva ha | gaṅgāyamunayor madhye yāmunasya girer adhaḥ |
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: Sa Madhyadeśa ay minsang may isang malaking pamayanan ng mga Brahmin. Nasa pagitan ito ng Gaṅgā at Yamunā, sa ibaba ng mga dalisdis ng bundok Yāmuna. Ipinakikilala ng talatang ito ang isang bantog na nayon ng mga Brahmin—isang huwarang tagpuan ng pagkatuto at disiplinadong pamumuhay—upang ihanda ang salaysay na magtuturo ng dharma, na nakaugat sa kabanalan ng pook at sa asal ng mga pantas.
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.