Shloka 3
Guru’s Instruction on Dream, Mind, Guṇas, and Knowing Brahman
Svapna–Manas–Guṇa–Brahma-vicāra
तिर्यग्योनिगतं रूपं कथं धारितवान् प्रभु: । केन कार्यनिसर्गेण तमाख्याहि महाबल,महाबली पितामह! सम्पूर्ण जगतके प्रभु होकर भी इन्होंने किस निमित्तसे तिर्यग्योनिमें जन्म ग्रहण किया; यह मुझे बताइये
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: tiryagyonigataṃ rūpaṃ kathaṃ dhāritavān prabhuḥ | kena kāryanisargeṇa tam ākhyāhi mahābala, mahābalī pitāmaha ||
Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Paano tinanggap ng Panginoon ang anyong pumasok sa sinapupunan ng hayop? Sa anong layunin at sa anong kinakailangang sanhi siya isinilang sa mga mababang uri ng nilalang? O makapangyarihan—O lolo sa ama na may dakilang lakas—ipaliwanag mo ito sa akin.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry into divine action: even the supreme Lord may assume seemingly lowly embodiments, and such descent is to be understood through purpose (kārya) and causal order (nisarga), not through ordinary limitation.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma about a Lordly figure who took birth in an animal womb, asking what reason or mission required such an embodiment.