Shloka 4
Khaḍgotpattiḥ (Origin and Dharmic Function of the Sword) | खड्गोत्पत्तिः
युधिछिर उवाच अज्ञानस्य प्रवृत्ति च स्थान वृद्धिक्षयोदयौ । मूलं योगं गतिं कालं॑ कारणं हेतुमेव च,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--भूपाल! अज्ञानकी उत्पत्ति, स्थिति, वृद्धि, क्षय, उद्गम, मूल, योग, गति, काल, कारण और हेतु कया हैं?
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ajñānasya pravṛttiṁ ca sthāna-vṛddhi-kṣayodayau | mūlaṁ yogaṁ gatiṁ kālaṁ kāraṇaṁ hetum eva ca ||
Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “O hari, sabihin mo sa akin ang tungkol sa kamangmangan—ang paglitaw at pagkilos nito, ang pananatili, ang paglago at paghina, at ang pagsibol nito. Ipaliwanag din ang ugat, ang pagkakaugnay (yoga), ang landas o daloy (gati), ang papel ng panahon, at kung ano ang tunay na sanhi at agarang udyok nito.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a systematic ethical-philosophical inquiry: ignorance is not treated vaguely but analyzed through its lifecycle (arising, persistence, growth, decline) and through causal categories (root, connection, course, time, cause, motive). This prepares for a dharma-centered explanation of how delusion forms and how it can be understood and overcome.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction setting, Yudhiṣṭhira questions a royal-sage authority (addressed as ‘O king’) and asks for a detailed account of ajñāna—how it begins, how it operates in life, what sustains it, and what factors (including time and causation) govern it.